Have/have not

Opportunities that you do have

And

Opportunities that you don’t have

Are both

Proof that God loves you.

Trials that you do have

And 

Trials that you don’t have

Are both

Proof that God loves you

Money that you do have

And

Money that you don’t have

Are both

Proof that God loves you

Talents that you do have

And

Talents that you don’t have

Are both

Proof that God loves you

Beauty that you do have

And beauty that you don’t

Abilities that you do have

And abilities that you don’t

Limits that you do have

And limits that you don’t

Experience that you do have

And wisdom that you don't

Strengths that you do have

Weaknesses that you don’t

Friends that you do have

Family that you don’t

Roots that you do have

Posterity that you don’t

Racism that you do have

Acceptance that you don’t

Failure that you do have

Success that you don’t

Questions that you do have

Answers that you don’t

Sins that you do have

Joy that you don’t

So we see

God really loves you

He is in the

Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly

Lifetime and generational details

Of your life

Even if you don’t feel it

Don’t know it

Don’t see it

Don’t want it

Even if you don’t believe it 

Don’t care

He is there

Always acting for your benefit

And He cares

About you

All of you

Yes you

You

copyright 2019 by Dallas Lauchner

Bible translations may lead to changed doctrines

It has always been interesting to me over the years that the Bible has so many versions.  It seems that many people have felt the need to make changes in the Bible.  The compiling of the Bible itself seems to have been such a hit and miss type thing in its day.  While what we have has definitely been inspirational to many in our world, I can't help but wonder about what was missed, set aside or lost. 

In our day and age you can go into a Christian bookstore and find multiple variations on the Bible for all kinds of things.  Translations have proliferated and become interesting.  How much do we lose each time we try to translate the Bible into a more understandable modern day language? 

The Bible it seems was has been translated from and to various languages until the meanings are changed. or shaded differently.  Of course meanings change and are shaded differently over time anyway, which makes me wonder if the combination of time and retranslating might be double trouble. It seems when a translation occurs that the translator can't help but be swayed by his own beliefs about things-- seeming to find validation of his beliefs in the translation leading to what appear to be changes in the text to others.  The more translated the book becomes the more it seems that things become unclear.  It seems to boil down to who can you trust to translate or change scripture?

I ran across an article about the Jefferson Bible which I had not previously heard of.  Thomas Jefferson decided to take the Bible of his time and pare it down to the essentials.  His book was actually entitled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.  In making his book he apparently took direct cut outs from his Bible and left out anything miraculous about the Savior including things that he felt were put in the Bible in error or were translated incorrectly--once again having a man sifting through the word of God. 

Jefferson's Bible in which he removed parts that strained reason.

I found this a little objectionable, not that a person would do that--certainly everyone can use or abuse their personal Bible as they please, but when I found our government had printed this Bible at considerable cost and gave copies to it of elected national politicians  (until the 1950s) I couldn't help but wonder what is the purpose of that?  Why would our government choose to support one Bible over another to the point of giving it to Congressman when they are elected for what purpose?  Is it an effort by our government to support the idea that Christ is a great Idea man and eliminate or minimize his claim that he was the Savior and the Son of God?  Well who knows?  Maybe since government is run by politicians they just wanted others to have a Bible that was adjusted by a politician thinking it would have special relevance for them.

Of course the philosophies of Christ even without the whole truth of who he is, are worthwhile in a world that needs people to treat each other better, kinder and more lovingly.  I can't really argue with that and certainly agree that politicians are not only in need of such reminders but also are in a position to really be an example of Christ's philosophies that could influence large groups of our countrymen.

I must say however that I would much prefer a pure D prophet seer and revelator, chosen of God, to make changes or adjustments to the scriptures...rather than a politician, even a revered President.

This graphic is included to give an idea of the proliferation of Bible translations.  It also illustrates the variety of ways that the translations are done (i.e. word for word, etc.)

Loy Krathong--repentance and forgiveness



Loy Krathong in Chaing Mai Thailand

Seeing this National Geographic picture today reminded me of when I lived in Thailand many years ago.  I never saw what the above picture shows, however.  Loy Krathong is a national holiday celebrated in some unique ways to our western sensibilities.  Rather than seeing the "floating lanterns" rising into the sky as in the picture above--I saw it celebrated in Bangkok with floating lanterns on the river.  My understanding of it's symbolic meaning was that it was a time each year that Thais would look at their lives and determine what changes needed to be made to be better.  A cross between new years and baptism in our culture.  It wasn't just a determination to do things differently but was a religious seeking of forgiveness with the hope and promise of being better in the future.  I was invited to Loy Krathong celebrations which would include a riverside launching of small floating lanterns with little things on them including money or other items representing the sins or changes that people wanted to make for the new year. 

I heard that sometimes young boys would swim out down river to collect the things on the floating lanterns for themselves.  I don't know if this was true but seemed likely with mischievous children. 

Being there at the launch of the little floats was magical as they had candles on them and you could watch them go down the river.  It seemed appropriate to me to think about our sins floating away as we remained here forever different because we had sent them away-forsaken so that we could become a better person.  I suspect in the Thai culture that there are those that this holiday has a very serious and deep religious meaning for.  While there are others that it was just fun and did not lend itself to any changes in their lives.  Just like our celebrations for Christmas or Easter. 

I find it interesting and something that we as Americans have in common with Thai people that we both desire to be better peoples.  Though we may have different national religions we both desire to improve both individually and nationally.  In America we have lots of opportunities to change from a wrong or harmful path to a more positive one.  Whether it be new years resolutions or the making of sacred covenants in temples or other houses of worship or possibly visiting a therapist to try to break old self-defeating patterns of behavior.  Let us be inspired by other cultures attempts to do the same thing, though they may have different symbolic gestures. 

The floating lanterns in the top picture must be a variation of what I had seen when I was in Thailand.  Instead of sending the lighted floats down the river they send them into the air like a kite.  I noted that the picture I had seen was from Chaing Mai Thailand and so I asked my wife who had lived there for a while if she ever saw that but she had not.  So possibly that is a new variation of the old tradition.  The idea of sending away our sins so that we can be a better person is appealing whether it is done down the river or through the air.  We then are free to be the people we really want to be not weighed down by the past mistakes.  Free to change as well as free to choose!



5000 days project: a fulfilled promise

Sam and Luke with two younger brothers.

I was unable to watch the 5000 days movie: two brothers directly after conference on Sunday but I was able to watch it Monday night late.  It really was an awesome movie.  It fulfilled the promise of making a movie that was uplifting and had some meaning.  The movie works excellently to bring you into the relationship of two brothers.  The relationship isn't static over the years and it goes from hero worship of the younger toward the older to distance and wanting to be different.  Then it curves back around as they grow and mature and the relationship becomes best friends and surely one of their most meaningful relationships in life.  It culminates as the younger brother follows his older brother's example to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Luke and Sam.  Click here to read an article about the movie.

The movie brings some strong feelings to those that are watching.  Maybe the stronger your relationships or past relationships with your siblings will amplify the feelings you will feel as you watch these two very real siblings having a real relationship and growing up together and then apart.  They help each other to reach personal goals and encourage and strengthen each other whether at home or with one serving a mission and the other at home. 

Luke participating in a pioneer trek.

This is a wonderful movie that I fully intend to watch again and maybe again and again (which is very rare for me).  One of the best things is that Producer and Director, Rick Stevenson tells us that this is only the first movie in the project.  His video work was of several children as they grew up and he has several more movies in the process of being made. 

Rick Stevenson.

Rick Stevenson is not a member of the church but turns out to be related to the boys in this movie.  He was looking for people in the Seattle area that would agree to let him video tape the children through their childhood and early adult years and wanted to show some boys with good values. 

Luke on his mission in Cambodia.

He develops throughout the theme of building a relationship which blossoms and becomes fully realized with Sam as he serves as a missionary in Chile.  Sam realizes that to love others you must feel what they are feeling which of course has the risk of being overwhelmed.  To see how he relentlessly pushes himself to grow as a missionary and realizes that he must learn to love the people better and how that leads him to feel some of the things that they feel.  It is really an introspective part of the movie that can teach us all to realize what is part of loving others and the benefits of doing it. 

Sam as a youngster.

Other themes that are mentioned are hard work paying off, and never giving up.  Sam deals with some depression as a teenager as well which will touch some people who have experience with that (isn't that everybody?).  Sam was serving in Chile during the devastating earthquake and his videos and description from the area are meaningful as well, as are the feelings of the parents as they wait to find out if their son/missionary survived. 

I am looking forward to the additional movies that he puts out. 

What I've been reading #8

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.  ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

How Do You Tuck In a Superhero? by Rachel Balducci

This is a picture of the author's family

This was an awesome book! I have never raised a son and have often wondered, as a father of daughters, how those little boys running around church and other places would ever amount to anything. This book is written in such an excellent and engaging manner that it sucked me in and really gave me hope for this generation of boys. I've been telling my friends about this book and suggesting that they should read it (women friends) just to understand their husbands better. I even ordered another copy to give to a friend that has several sons, I thought it would be a comfort. She does a good job of sharing some of her families stories to help show her points. She manages to share her wonder of the boys as well and lets us see things fresh as she has learned them herself. This book had me chuckling out loud and reading parts to my wife not to mention the occasional teary eyes. I recommend it if you have any interest in how males grow from those clueless hoodlums to grown and decent men. The author is Catholic and brings in a little religion but doesn't knock it over your head but instead it does make it friendlier to a religious crowd. Read it you'll enjoy it!

Escape from Rwanda by John Bizimana

This book is about a boy from Rwanda.  His father died when he was a child and due to the loss of income they went from fairly well to do to poor.  With all the troubles that arose in Rwanda they soon were trying to get away either to live with family or to refugee camps: to Zaire, Tanzania, and Zambia.  His mother died in a refugee camp and he ended up taken by extended family where he was left in a boarding school when his aunt and uncle went to Belgium because he couldn't obtain the documents needed due to the chaos in that part of the world.  Finally he made it to Belgium.  Every step of the way he proved to be better than expected, doing well in school and everything that he took up.  His dream was to get to the United States.  In Belgium because it seemed he would never get his dream and he started to despair.  Naturally that is when he ran into the missionaries at a basketball tournament.  After joining the church with fervor and then losing focus there and finally becoming reactivated a past prophets grandson provided the money while the Lord provided the miracles for him to make his dream come true as he was accepted and is attending BYU. 

John Yves Bisimana, click to read a little about what he is up to now.

Matched by Ally Condie

This is a YA novel of a dystopian future.  It compares very favorably with Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins which I read earlier.  Matched has the same feel except it takes out the violence and improves the characterization and may be better written as a result.  Cassia lives in a society where everything is controlled as much as possible by the government.  To the point that when teenagers are 17 they are matched with another youth who would be their best mate.  So they start a period of getting to know the other person and go on supervised dates with them eventually leading to marriage.  Cassia is not a radical and complies very closely with her societies requirements, until she starts to see some errors and other things that are not working out like they should.  Her family goes through some struggles and a friend is put in danger because of a choice she makes.  Plus she has feelings for someone other than her match.  It has some very clean romance and forebodings of a government gone amuck.  Naturally there is another book coming out in a couple months that will continue the story.  And the romance is just what you would expect from an LDS writer.

Ally Condie

 

Patch-Word Quilt by Paula J. Smith
So there we were up on that mountain on our anniversary and in the cottage we were staying in one of the books in the collection there was written by the owner of the property.  I read a little bit of it and it seemed to be a self-help book.  How to strengthen ourselves in some areas and weaken ourselves in others.  Basically how to become a better person.  So we ended up purchasing a copy thinking it would be nice to have a book written by a person we had met.  It is a small book that takes a number of words like Hope, Fear, and Self-confidence and describes if they are good for people or not and how to strengthen/weaken them in our lives as needed.  I didn't agree with every idea that she had but I did like the quick and easy way of going through a lot of complicated things and making it simple and straightforward.  I enjoyed reading it.  It seemed like a good book for a young person who hadn't heard too much about these things or a person who needed some encouragement to know they could change and be different if they found them self in a place they were unhappy with.  Paula said that she had studied psychology and had found times in her life when she needed to hear the things that she had written in the book.  A fun, quick but thought provoking read. 

Wilde

There are not enough churches

I was at work the other day talking with my coworker.  Somehow the conversation turned to how many different churches there were.  It is true that in our world there are very many churches.  If we look at the Christian denominations alone there are about 38000.  In the world there are many more religions and they are connected in various ways through current affiliation or through history to other religions.  It appears that there are 19 major religions throughout the world of which Christianity is the largest making up about 1/3 of religious people in the world.    

My friend pointed out that there are lots of concerns and sometimes complaints about all the different churches.  Some people think there are too many churches.  This is where he took off on an unanticipated tangent.  He pointed out that in the Christian religions, and maybe others, the basis of the church is the home.  That is where the majority or religious teaching occurs through instruction as well as by example, typically of the parents.  Church attendance is actually a support to the teachings in the family.  Without the family teaching and supporting religion in the home there would not be churches he suggested. 

His view ultimately was that there were not enough churches in the world because every home needed to be a church in and of itself.  Over the whole earth that would make an estimated one billion churches.  I was intrigued by my friend's thoughts on the matter and have thought about them since our discussion. 

His assertion that the family is the center of the church (and he further asserted the basic unit of the country) agrees with the LDS religious teachings and the emphasis is properly put on religious teachings in the home.  My concern comes when I considered trying to unify so many teachings in so many different homes.  Each home surely teaches, represents and complys with religious teachings differently.  It consistent parental effort to to unify one home religiously.  Unifying several homes would be difficult.   If every home were left to itself with no direction or no authority from outside the home it would be easy to imagine a chaotic shizm in just about every possible doctrine and belief. Would any beliefs remain common among any sizable groups in such circumstances?  Don't they all need some connection to authoritive doctrine and teachings? 

I was thinking about the various religions and how each religious group often does little things that push away other groups and alienate themselves from others.  That certainly creates a feeling that we have unreconcilable differences.  On the edges of most if not all religious groups there are those who will allow their prejudices and/or feelings of superiority to lead to verble clashes and even violence.  I certainly would not want these negative aspects from history, and recognizable in current world situations, to increase by encouraging every home to be their own religion without authoritive direction from God.   

However; my frienid certainly is right that the family needs to be a place where religious observance is paramount, safe, and where religion can be peacefully taught and lived.  Where questions can be asked without embarrasment and improvement can be made without old ties holding us back.  I conclude that religion is centered in the home and attending church is an attempt to be and have support from a wider community of people with similar beliefs.  We do manage to create a sort of unity within many or most churches today.  It is when people view themselves as different from each other in religion that we have difficulty with unity--though there are certainly exceptions and great successes in this matter from time to time.

Perhaps it would help if we all would see that we come from the same God, that our Heavenly Father is the one that put us here within His plan for us.  Accepting we come from one God might lead us to find His foundational truths that are available now on this earth.  [If we assume he created all these different belief systems then he becomes the author of the discord that he frequently warns and condemns in his scriptures and through his prophets.]  So clearly The Truth should trump what we then must call traditions of our culture, our families or to whatever we have given our allegence.  Recognizing the one true God's hand today and our true relationship to him and thus each other might humbly enable us to join together and unify.  It seems too overwhelming and implausable until the Millenium, doesn't it? 

President Howard W. Hunter said in Oct. Conference 1991:

"In the message of the gospel, the entire human race is one family descended from a single God. All men and women have not only a physical lineage leading back to Adam and Eve, their first earthly parents, but also a spiritual heritage leading back to God the Eternal Father. Thus, all persons on earth are literally brothers and sisters in the family of God.

"It is in understanding and accepting this universal fatherhood of God that all human beings can best appreciate God’s concern for them and their relationship to each other. This is a message of life and love that strikes squarely against all stifling traditions based on race, language, economic or political standing, educational rank, or cultural background, for we are all of the same spiritual descent. We have a divine pedigree; every person is a spiritual child of God."

In that talk he quoted Brigham Young as saying:  “For me, the plan of salvation must … circumscribe [all] the knowledge that is upon the face of the earth, or it is not from God. Such a plan incorporates every system of true doctrine on the earth, whether it be ecclesiastical, moral, philosophical, or civil: it incorporates all good laws that have been made from the days of Adam until now; it swallows up the laws of nations, for it exceeds them all in knowledge and purity; it circumscribes the doctrines of the day, and takes from the right and the left, and brings all truth together in one system, and leaves the chaff to be scattered hither and thither.” (Journal of Discourses, 7:148.)

President Hunter further said:

"In the gospel view, no man is alien. No one is to be denied. There is no underlying excuse for smugness, arrogance, or pride. Openly scorning the pettiness and intolerance of rival religious groups, the Prophet Joseph Smith said in an editorial: 'While one portion of the human race is judging and condemning the other without mercy, the Great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard; He views them as His offspring, and without any of those contracted feelings that influence the children of men, causes ‘His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.’ He holds the reins of judgment in His hands; He is a wise Lawgiver, and will judge all men, not according to the narrow, contracted notions of men, but, ‘according to the deeds done in the body whether they be good or evil,’ or whether these deeds were done in England, America, Spain, Turkey, or India.' (History of the Church, 4:595–96.)

"Mormonism, so-called, is a world religion, not simply because its members are now found throughout the world, but chiefly because it has a comprehensive and inclusive message based upon the acceptance of all truth, restored to meet the needs of all mankind.

"In our humble efforts to build brotherhood and to teach revealed truth, we say to the people of the world what President George Albert Smith so lovingly suggested: 'We have come not to take away from you the truth and virtue you possess. We have come not to find fault with you nor to criticize you. We have not come here to berate you because of things you have not done; but we have come here as your brethren … and to say to you: ‘Keep all the good that you have, and let us bring to you more good, in order that you may be happier and in order that you may be prepared to enter into the presence of our Heavenly Father.’” (Sharing the Gospel with Others, comp. Preston Nibley, Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1948, pp. 12–13.)

Maybe the peace that we desire in the world starts in the families and then to the churches and on to communities and eventually the world.  So if we could unite our families in belief and practice then eventually we could move that to the rest of the world.  That would change our world and life as we know it.  There is a calmness, a peace, a common hope among groups that binds them together in faith and practice.  Every family could benefit from that as could our world.

Maybe the word church, as we understand it in our culture and times, is a bit devisive.  Maybe 'every home a chapel' [rather than every home a church] would better communicate that each home could be a sacred and peaceful place for family members to dwell and to learn the values that will spread from each home into the surrounding world.

L.Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Appostles

Excerpts from April 2003 Conference address

In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. Families lie at the center of our Heavenly Father’s plan.


We will use all of the resources we have to encourage greater harmony, greater love, and greater influence in the Lord’s special designated unit—the family.

We need to make our homes a place of refuge from the storm, which is increasing in intensity all about us. Even if the smallest openings are left unattended, negative influences can penetrate the very walls of our homes.

We hope that by flooding the Church with family-oriented media, members of the Church will be assisted and encouraged to build stronger and better families. We hope it will cause a conscious and sustained effort in building an eternal family unit. An abundance of Church materials will be available for you from which to pick and choose useful ideas. At least by seeing family issues mentioned so often, we all will be reminded to focus our attention on the most important organization the Lord has established here on earth.

May it be our resolve...to build a gospel-centered home, a safe harbor from the storms of the adversary. Let us again remember the promises and instructions from the Lord to His children:

“The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.

“Light and truth forsake that evil one. …

“And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.

“But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.”(D&C 93:36–37, 39–40)

Magnify your calling: The Story of Father Damien

In the church we have a great phrase "magnify your calling" or for the men we often say "magnify your Priesthood".  Of course many of us have used a magnifying glass to look at things.  For example my Dad used to have a good magnifying glass to look at coins when he was trying to determine the value of a coin.  A coin's value is determined by it's condition which typically means how worn it is.  The less worn, then the more worth.  The more worn the less worth.  So a magnifying glass helped a collector be able to see the coin more clearly and determine, based on certain criteria what the worth of the coin was. 

Parable of the talents

In a way we might be able to determine how valuable the Priesthood is to us by seeing what condition our Priesthood is in.  When we see that we use it rarely and don't try to understand it or maybe even pretend we don't have it, then we can see that it has little value to us.  Reminds me of the parable about the talents--the man who buried his talent to "protect" it learned that wasn't the point.  Similarly we should use the Priesthood.  If the Priesthood is magnified then it is enlarged or improved--similar to the other recipients of talents in the parable.  They increased their talents which was what the Lord wanted them to do.  Do we magnify our Priesthood?  Do we use it every chance we get?  Do we ask others if we can use it on their behalf.  In the case of the Priesthood the value may not come in what we do to or for the Priesthood but rather what we allow the Priesthood to do with us.  If we grow, mature and purify ourselves that may be how we magnify the Priesthood, by magnifying our righteousness. 

In October 2010 conference Pres. Monson said: "The priesthood you bear is a special gift, for the giver is the Lord Himself. Use it, magnify it, and live worthy of it."  I think magnifying is to find ways to use it and to make it of worth to others and also when we allow the Priesthood to inspire us to put forth the effort to purify and better ourselfs--the bearers of the Priesthood.

I've wondered about this "magnify" in this context in the past.  I've wondered if the danger wasn't that we would make too big a deal of it, or rather think we are great because we have it.  That we might try to do things that were not part of our responsibility and try to take over other people's responsibilities thinking to enlarge or magnify our calling.  So when I heard the following phrase by Kathleen Hughes back in 2004 I understood her concerns and appreciated what she taught us. 

"I, like many of you, have had numerous callings in the Church. Some have been easier for me than others, but I have tried to magnify each one. But does the phrase “magnify your calling” ever make you nervous? It has worried me! Recently I read a talk in which President Thomas S. Monson said on the subject: “And how does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it” (Kathleen Hughes, “Priesthood Power,” Liahona, Jan. 2000, 60; Ensign, Nov. 1999, 51).

In other words, don't bury it or do nothing with it, or avoid opportunities to use it but do the service that is part and parcel with it.  When we magnify the call then we call upon God to magnify us as Henry B. Eyring mentions in the following quote: "Just as God called you and will guide you, He will magnify you. You will need that magnification. Your calling will surely bring opposition. You are in the Master’s service. You are His representative. Eternal lives depend on you. (Oct. 2002 Conference)  So we get magnified when we accept and follow through on the responsibility. 

I recently heard and then read a little about a man who surely magnified his call.  He was not a member of the church but rather was a Catholic Priest from Belgium.  Father Damien was a young man who was a priest like his older brother.  Father Damien wanted to be called to be a missionary and prayed for that regularly.  However, his brother received the call to be a missionary to Hawaii.  At the last minute his brother was sick and Father Damien was asked to go in his stead.  It seems his prayer was answered. 

Eventually Father Damien volunteered to serve the 816  lepers who were quarantined and not allowed to mix with the population who didn't have the disease.  The place where the lepers lived had become a real ghetto with "drunken and lewd" behavior becoming the norm.  He arrived and turned things around.  In addition to building a church and helping the lepers recognize they needed to keep their morals despite their disease, he served the lepers by dressing their wounds, building houses and beds for the lepers, and coffins and buried them when they died.  He returned a cooperation and the rule of law to the group and his encouragement led to schools being built and started to educate the lepers.  Surely he must have thought frequently about the story of the Master healing the ten lepers and wished he could do the same. 

Something he wrote to his brother in 1873 showed the seriousness he took in his work with that population.  "...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ."  Doesn't it sound like something Paul would have said?  Eleven years later, Father Damien, did indeed contract the disease and five years after that died at the age of 49 literally having taken on the illness of those he had served. 

In a later year Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a letter chiding a detractor of Father Damien:  "But, sir, when we have failed, and another has succeeded; when we have stood by, and another has stepped in; when we sit and grow bulky in our charming mansions, and a plain, uncouth peasant steps into the battle, under the eyes of God, and succours the afflicted, and consoles the dying, and is himself afflicted in his turn, and dies upon the field of honour - the battle cannot be retrieved as your unhappy irritation has suggested. It is a lost battle, and lost for ever. One thing remained to you in your defeat - some rags of common honour; and these you have made haste to cast away."

Maybe we could learn from Father Damien to jump in and do the service that is required for our calling and our Priesthood.  Even if it requires our energy, our effort and even our life.  And then maybe we could share our gratitude with God for the opportunity.

Ten healed lepers, one of which expresses his gratitude.

"Joseph Smith's Last Dream"

I was reading a blog by a Mormon author that I enjoy (which you can see by clicking here).  It tells of a dream by Joseph Smith shortly before his martyrdom that seemed to foreshadow his coming death.  It is somewhat similar to NDEs or near death experiences that I have read many of and studied in college a little bit.  Just to be clear though it is a dream and not a near death experience.  I find it thought provoking and thought you might too. 

Below are the video made by and LDS video producer: Seth Adam Smith.  The painting above is an attempt by an LDS artist to paint the scene--Jon McNaughton.  The last video is concerning the authenticity of the dream and the recording of it by W.W. Phelps. 

I would be interested to hear what you think. 

My experience with the Book of Mormon

Mark Mabry art of Christ coming to Nephites in the Book of Mormon

I was reading a blog by a fellow Mormon that inspired me to write a post about my experience with the Book of Mormon.  I have read the Book of Mormon several times and in two languages.  That certainly doesn't make me an expert on it, but it does indicate that I am pretty familiar with it.  The first time I read it through was when I was a teenager and we were challenged in our early morning religion class before school to read it.  I read it in about 34 days.  At that particular time I found it exciting and enjoyable to read.  It touched me with some of the things that were taught in it and I felt like it was what it purported to be, which is scripture. 

I have grown up in the church and learned from the Book of Mormon right alongside the Bible.  I attended three years at a private Christian middle school and had daily Bible classes.  I have loved both books of scripture and found them both to coincide closely in teaching the words of Christ. 

They both bring forth the importance of Christ and the hope that Christ has given humankind.  One difference is that the Book of Mormon seems to concentrate more on the daily application of Christ's teachings as opposed to the Bible which seems more focused on declaring instruction from God to man. 

I use them both in my life to guide me to understand what God wants me to know, to be inspired by his teachings and examples, and then to implement them into my life.  The two together help me see the gospel in a more well rounded way and identify how the teachings apply to me as an American in this modern age.  As one woman I respect (Chieko Okasaki) said "In principle great clarity, in practice great charity".  The two books of scripture together give Christ's teachings more clarity in my mind, and coming from different cultures they help us to view their difference in implementation which allows us greater charity in seeing a larger variety of people attempting to live by Christ's teachings and example in the books. 

In my quest to know if both books are truly from God for our benefit and growth, I have had my prayers answered and know that they are both true books of scripture which together are meant to guide us to correct doctrine and correct practice of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope that you will take the opportunity to study them both, and compare the fullness of God's Spirit that comes from both.  I hope you will allow that Spirit to guide you in your application of the principles taught by prophets and our Savior in both books.

Here is a short video introduction to the Book of Mormon. 

Degrees of charity

We know the importance of charity in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In 1st Corinthians 13:13 it says: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."  That makes it pretty clear that charity is huge, when you consider how important hope and faith are.  Moroni 7:46 corroborates this: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all".  Doctrine and Covenants 88:125 says it in a positive way: "And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace."  Charity is something we need to develop.

Possibly a way to measure where we are with the development of charity in our lives is the "Eight Degrees of Charity" which were penned by a medieval Jewish philosopher named Maimonides.  The following are his degrees of charity from lowest (least charitable) to highest.

1.  Giving to the poor unwillingly.
2.  Giving to the poor gladly with a smile.
3.  Giving to the poor person after being asked.
4.  Giving to the poor person before being asked.
5.  Giving without knowing who you give to even though the person receiving does know who has given to him.
6.  Knowing who you are giving to but they don't know you.
7.  Neither the giver nor the receiver knows the other.
8.  Help a person by providing a loan, making a partnership or finding/giving them a job and helping him until "he needs no longer". 

As I have thought about this I couldn't help but consider how we help people in the church.  Better known as the church welfare system, members give money to the ward (called fast offering) for the use of the Bishop to help people locally who are in need.  The system is set up to help people for short periods to get over an emergency situation.  Ideally those in need through a financial emergency will receive short term help until they again stand on their own to maintain their independence.  That situation coincides with #7 on the degrees of charity.  We give money to the ward for the Bishop to be able to help the needy.  They don't know who has given the money to the Bishop and we don't know who the Bishop helps with it.  Church employment specialists attempt to help with degree #8, to help them find a job, or better job so that they will no longer have financial problems.  That degree #8 help could also come in learning how to budget, finding more a more affordable place to live or learning strategies to live within a families income.   

The interesting parts, to me, of these degrees of charity are at the lower end where people give unwillingly.  I had to think about that for a minute because most seem to give willingly in the church or not give at all.  I was trying to imagine a situation where a need existed and a ward member would give unwillingly.  Still good that they gave but as we all know, doing the right willingly is much closer to how the Lord does things and there seem to be increased blessings for those that are able to provide an attitude of willingness to do or give as required. 

I found degree #2 intriguing because it seemed to me that all the higher degrees should include the smile.  On the other hand I imagined the person giving unwillingly frowning or grimacing which had some funny images in my mind.  I guess if I were giving unwillingly I might make some faces too. 

The progression up from there makes sense to me.  Willing to give but must be asked first.  I am often not a volunteering guy but when asked am willing to do whatever is needed.  This emphasized to me that maybe I need to be more free with volunteering.  Then the further progression of giving without knowing who and then they not knowing you gave was good too.  Those two in particular start taking out the control of the money (If I know who it is going to, I might feel some control over the money still.  Or its possible I would choose not to give to certain folks while being willing to give to others--so in essence not trusting the Lord and the Bishop with my money but wanting more control.) Alternately when the receiver knows it came from me I might receive some side benefit from giving--at least knowing that they are in my debt or sharing their gratitude with me.  All-n-all I found the degrees of giving a good gauge at looking at my own giving to see if I am progressing to giving the Lord's way. 

In reality, however; charity is a lot more than giving to the poor.  It is also an attitude of forgiving, kindness, love and caring all wrapped together.  So don't get tunnel vision thinking that charity is only about giving to the needy.  Charity is a way of life that smooths all our relationships, including our relationship with ourself that makes our relationship to God much more comfortable as well. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  Charity never faileth...