The Every Day Atonement

Last week in Relief Society we were given an invitation to read about the Atonement over the next week for 20 minutes, reflect and be prepared to share our thoughts and feelings.  My own personal reading led me from one conference talk to another and I know it took much longer than 20 minutes.  To share my thoughts in Relief Society, during the few minutes given in opening exercises, would simply take too long and take time away from others who would also like to share.  I felt my thoughts were worth sharing, so doing it on my blog seemed a likely solution.

To start with, let me say being raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not ensure you know or understand all there is to know or understand about the Gospel.  Quite the contrary. It only opens up doors and thoughts to things of eternal perspective that won't be understood to the fullest in this life, but will be understood as we progress in the eternities, to the extent of the things we need to understand for our own personal journey.  The Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it affects me personally is no exception to that.  It is not simple nor easy to understand.  We learn about how it helps cleanse the repentant, how it heals and gives peace, how it perfects us, etc, etc, etc.  I've heard many times how we could, even should, access the Atonement every day of our lives.  But how do we do that?  How do I do that?  I want a nice list of things to do or a recipe to follow telling me how to do that.  It seems so confusing to me.  I've certainly felt the effects of healing and the strengthening power of the Atonement of Christ in times of weakness and trial, but how do I use it everyday, every normal, mundane, typical day?  I feel like I've had a recent breakthrough to this question.  My husband, Dave and I just finished a book titled 65 Signs of the Times by David J. Ridges.  The last chapter is titled How Good Do You Have To Be In Order To Have A Pleasant Second Coming?  Interesting question that I bet several of you have had in some fashion or another.  So think about this..... are we told "no imperfect thing can dwell in the presence of God" or are we told "no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God".  Well he quotes several scriptures all stating that no unclean thing can dwell with God or enter into His kingdom.  So what is the difference between "unclean" and "imperfect"?  There are certainly scripture passages using the word "perfect", the most commonly known among many of us from the Sermon on the Mount, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48)   He then quotes President Dallin H Oaks:

                      

   "Another idea that is powerful to lift us from discouragement is that the work of the Church.....is an eternal work.  Not all problems ....are fixed in mortality.  The work of salvation goes on beyond the veil of death, and we should not be too apprehensive about incompleteness within the limits of mortality." (Powerful Ideas, Ensign, November 1995, p. 25)    

That word, 'incompleteness'...... remember that.  And what does that have to do with perfection or imperfection, being clean or unclean?  And how does this all relate to using the Atonement daily?

Then I read a few conference talks that all focused on the same thing, at least in my mind they all lead me in the same direction.  Those talks are What Lack I Yet? by Elder Larry R. Lawrence, Perfection Pending by President Russell M Nelson, and Be Ye Therefore Perfect---Eventually by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. (links at the bottom)

One of the big things to know from reading these talks is explained by President Nelson.  He talks about 2 types of perfection, mortal perfection as we would think of it, and eternal perfection.  At the Sermon on the Mount, when Christ tells us to be perfect, "even as your Father in heaven is perfect", he now raises our sights above the bounds of mortality.  Our Heavenly Father has eternal perfection.  He explains that the original language of the New Testament was Greek.  The word 'perfect' in the New Testament comes from the Greek word 'teleios', which means 'complete.'  'Teleios' is an adjective derived from the noun 'telos', which means 'end'.  He has a lot more to say about this meaning and it is not only interesting, but inspiring and encouraging! Christ also said just prior to his crucifixion, on "the third day, I shall be perfected." (Luke 13:32)  Did that strike you as it did me?  Jesus Christ....spotless, clean, without any sin or misdeed, but not perfect..... not until he died and was resurrected on the third day.  Then, and only then, was he perfect, complete, and was finished.  

Read Elder Oaks quote again:

   "Another idea that is powerful to lift us from discouragement is that the work of the Church.....is an eternal work.  Not all problems ....are fixed in mortality.  The work of salvation goes on beyond the veil of death, and we should not be too apprehensive about incompleteness within the limits of mortality."

To me this all means we will not be complete/perfect in this mortal life, We will have progression and opportunity to continue that quest and it isn't even possible in mortality.

So what is possible in mortality?  How do we get as close to "cleanliness" as possible so we won't be left out when that statement about "no unclean thing entering the kingdom of God" really hits home?  As I read Elder Holland's talk and as explained in the last chapter about having a pleasant second coming in the book I mentioned, it seems so clear and simple.  I try each day to be better than yesterday.  I find things I need to improve, to be a better family member, a better ward member, a better ministering servant to my friends and neighbors, a better community member, to obey the commandments with faith and exactness a little better today than yesterday, ultimately to be more Christ-like just better than yesterday.  I even ask my Father in Heaven in prayer what I need to improve or "What lack I yet?" as spoken of so personally in the talk by Elder Lawrence.  The whisperings of the Spirit will tell me, and they will be just for me, up close and personal.  Then I need to be prepared to ask for the help I will need to work on what ever it is I'm directed to do. I will need to be humble and recognize when I am not quite up to par with improvement. That's what I need to do to make use of the incredible gift of the Atonement every normal, mundane, typical day.  It may not always be easy, but it will be worth it! 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1995/10/perfection-pending?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/what-lack-i-yet?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/be-ye-therefore-perfect-eventually?lang=eng 

                  

Why I'm a Mormon

Earlier this week I was impressed with something to write about.  I didn't have the time at that very minute and when I did have the time, many of those pressing thoughts had left my mind.  This morning, I woke at about 3:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep, so what did I do.....grabbed my phone, of course, and scrolled through Facebook.  It was filled with the usual, but I also came across some disheartening posts and updates from LDS sites that caused some emotional upheaval.  The thoughts I had earlier in the week started to come back to me as I tried to process what I was reading through the Facebook links.  As those thoughts came back into my mind I felt stronger than ever about sharing them.

I want to tell you all why I am a Mormon.  What does that have to do with the emotional Facebook posts, you ask.  Bare with me here, I hope to explain it all.  

So why am I a Mormon?  Or by its official name, why am I a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?  The short and most basic answer to that is... because my parents were and I was baptized at the age of 8.  At least that's how it all started for me.  That was the beginning.  But in reality, it started much earlier than that.  My ancestors joined the LDS church in the 1840s.  That ancestry is filled with faith, strength, passion for truth and right, sacrifice, and the list goes on and on.  I grew up on a family farm with my grandparents living just behind our house and I witnessed first hand how they lived the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That example still sticks with me today and influences my life and my choices.  As I grew up hearing their stories of faith, something inside of me just "knew" there was truth to what they did and why they did it.  I grew up knowing and understanding their reasons and driving force.  I believe I was simply blessed with the ability to see and understand truth.  I have come to realize that as a true blessing, maybe even a gift, as it doesn't come as easily for others. 

Now let me go to the real beginning.  I'm going to tell you things that Mormons believe, but in doing so, I am telling you what I believe.  I am not just a Mormon by name, or by religious affiliation, I am a Mormon inside and out.  It's what I am made up of.

We lived in a pre-mortal world as spirit children of a loving Heavenly Father before we were born.  Have you ever held a new born baby and looked into their eyes.  I'm guessing you have.  So that little spirit was in this pre-mortal world not long before that birth took place.  In this pre-mortal world, our Heavenly Father told us of a plan.  He would create an earth where we could gain bodies, experience things we couldn't experience in the world and in the state we were currently in.  We would learn new thing, gain strength and knowledge and when our earth life was over, our spirits would return to that Heavenly realm, with the possibility to live with our Heavenly Father again.  Have you ever wondered where you came from?  I mean really came from.  Why are you here on this earth?  Where are you going after you die?  These are not mysteries to me.  The answers are absolute.

We believe in a savior, Jesus Christ.  He was there with us in the pre-mortal world.  He presented a plan to come to this earth with a most specific mission. Lucifer was there in the pre-existence too.  He also presented a plan, one where he would eliminate all choice and we would follow all our Heavenly Fathers commandments without fail and all would return to live with Heavenly Father again.  Forced...with out option to even think for ourselves. He would take all the credit and glory for all of our success in returning.  Christ's plan was that we would be able to make choices for ourselves.  Learn from our choices, the good ones and the bad ones.  Knowing we would make bad choices along the way and even sin, He would come to this earth and atone for our sins and imperfections.  The atonement is a complex subject, but in simple terms, if we recognize our sins or imperfections and have a sincere desire to improve or change bad behavior, we can be made perfect because Jesus Christ already suffered or atoned for those sins.  I didn't say we are perfect, but we can become perfect and it is a life long process that won't be achieved until we are finished with this mortal life.  We believe that our Heavenly Father chose Christ's plan, but there were many who wanted to follow Lucifer.  They (Lucifer and his followers) were cast out of Heaven and would not have the opportunity to be born and gain bodies.  We believe that Lucifer and his followers, in their anger, are now actively working to keep those that are born to this earth from returning to live with Heavenly Father again.  I believe that all to be true.  I've never doubted.  Evil exists in this world.  It is evident all around us.  It affects all of us in some way or another.  But I also believe in good.  The mercy offered to us all through Jesus Christ is what makes this earth life so worth while.  Jeffrey R Holland stated, "However many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made … , I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” 

I believe we have been given prophets, even from the beginning of time with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc.  Prophets that gave us direct council from God to help us along the way.  To help us stay clear of that evil or to help us get back on the right path when that evil has effected our lives.  We believe that Jesus Christ was born in the meridian of time to fulfill the law of Moses.  That his ultimate sacrifice was necessary to the whole plan.  We believe that after his death and after the death of his apostles, the direct revelation from Heavenly Father to His prophets was lost.  The dark ages is a period in history when revelation was gone.  It is prophesied in the Bible as a great apostasy.  We believe in the Bible.  It is filled with great truths and teachings and recordings of God's dealings with man in the eastern world, not to mention a record of Christ's life and teachings.  But we also believe that God has placed prophets in other parts of the world.  He communicated with the western world too.  Those records are found in the Book of Mormon, which is a sacred history of people on the American continent, both before Christ and after Christ.  It is a second testament of Jesus Christ as the prophets prophesied of his birth, his life, his mission.  It records how He, Jesus Christ, came to these people after he died and was resurrected.  He spent time with them teaching the same things He taught in Jerusalem.  I believe all of this to be true.

We believe that after a long apostasy with no communication from God to his prophets, a young boy was being prepared to fulfill his mission on this earth.  Yes, Joseph Smith was young.  At the age of 14 he questioned all the religions being taught.  Some taught very conflicting doctrine.  He had the insight to know they couldn't all be true doctrine.  He had enough goodness in his heart to want to know for himself which church he should join.  He read in James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."  He believed with all his heart his prayer would be answered.  He went into a private grove of trees and asked his sincere question of which church he should join.  As I said, he was being prepared for his specific mission on this earth, therefore, his prayer was answered in a most miraculous way.  God, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him.  He was told none of the churches had the complete and true doctrine at that time.  That ended the great apostasy.  God was again communicating with man and a prophet was being prepared.  We believe that over the next several years, Joseph grew in knowledge and spiritual strength.  He was lead to the plates that had the history of those people on the American continent.  We believe that through divine inspiration, Joseph, of little formal education, was able to translate those records into the Book of Mormon.  Through divine inspiration and prophesy, he was able to restore the church that Jesus Christ organized when He was on the earth, both in Jerusalem and on the American continent.  You see, when the great apostasy occurred and revelation was lost, that perfect church fell apart.  There were many bits and pieces of it around, but no revelation to hold it together and continue.  As many good and honest people searched for goodness in the world, they sought after religion and found some of those bits and pieces.  Religious groups were formed and given names in this effort to find goodness.  We believe that all religions have good and many of those bits and pieces of Christ's church exist in all of them.  But we also believe that the whole doctrine was lacking, until it was restored in it's fullness by Jesus Christ himself, through a latter day prophet, Joseph Smith.  We believe prophets have continued from that day to this very day.  We are promised that revelation will not be taken from the earth again.  We believe we have a prophet today, Russell M. Nelson, who recently followed Thomas S. Monson after President Monson's death.  President Nelson presides as president of a world wide church.  We believe and sustain other prophets as they are called to the Quorum of the Twelve, just as Jesus had twelve apostles. Jeffrey R. Holland, mentioned above as the author of a quote, is one of those 12 men.  These men lead our church and give us council directly from our Heavenly Father.  I know these things to be true.  We have a world wide conference twice a year and with the marvel of technology, it can be heard, viewed, read, all over the world.  All (Mormons and non Mormons alike) are invited to watch or listen.  One of those conferences is occurring this weekend (March 31, 2018 and April 1, 2018).  There are 3 sessions on Saturday and 2 on Sunday and can be viewed live on www.lds.org or viewed at a later date on the same website.  We Mormons love this conference time and love and look forward to listening to these prophets of God.

There are so many things I could continue writing.  Perhaps I should save some of that for a later post.  But I do want to add.....yes, there is controversy in the church, as there is opposition in all things.  As I said, evil does exist and we believe that.  Paul prophesied of many horrible things that would take place before Christ returns.  So why should these things be surprising?  There are things I don't know and can't answer, but I don't let the things that I don't know interfere with the things that I do know.  One of my blog posts expresses how I feel about being a woman in the LDS church.  That topic carries controversy in a world where people want to disregard true doctrine for changing times and opinions.  True doctrine doesn't change and I for one am not the least bit threatened by that.  In fact, it gives me great comfort.  As for the things I read this morning on the links, well perhaps you've read those things too.  As I said earlier, evil does exist and it can and will effect all of us.  People are not perfect and this church is made up of millions of imperfect people, some with little imperfections and some with big sins.  But the doctrine is true and perfect.  It is Christ's doctrine.  I know this to be true.

I love being a Mormon.  I love the peace and comfort it gives me in my life.  My membership doesn't give me that peace and comfort, as there are many with that same membership who lack that comfort.  But what does give me peace is knowing that I am trying my best and that I'm not alone.  I have guidance through ancient prophets in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon.  I have guidance through latter day prophets in our conferences and other sources.  I have a loving Heavenly Father who does not leave me to fend for myself.  I have a loving and merciful Savior, Jesus Christ, who not only helps me on my life long quest for perfection, but can heal wounds inflicted in this imperfect world filled with imperfect people.  I love this life, in all it's imperfections, because the good far outweighs the bad.  I know this all to be true.

A Dose of Humility

So I'm laying in bed, not sleeping and my mind drifts to a favorite passage of scripture of mine.  One that has confused me over the years, but one that is becoming more clear to me in my own life.  It's in the Book of Mormon, Ether chapter 12.  Moroni is expressing his feeling of weakness in writing.  For those who don't know, Moroni was the last Nephite in the American continent.  His father, Mormon had all the writings of his people, from the time they left Jerusalem in 600 b.c. and sailed to what is now America, until about 400 a.d.  He abridged these records onto a single but large book made of gold plates.  These records contained prophesy and history of the people on the American continent during the same period of time that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and taught there and was crucified there.  They contain record that He, Jesus, visited these people on the American continent in his resurrected form and ministered to them and taught them, just as he had for the people in Jerusalem in his 3 years of ministry there.  The book is another testament of Jesus Christ and his teachings along with the Bible. Mormon did most of the abridgment of these records, but left them to his son Moroni to finish.  So as I said, in Ether 12, Moroni is expressing to the Lord his feeling of inadequacy of writing, not only his own inadequacy but of his people who had done most of this record keeping. That alone is so hard to understand.  Especially when I read this marvelous record of history and testimony in the Book of Mormon.  The words are powerful and inspired.  But Moroni goes on to say that they have been given words to speak and are mighty in speech, but their hands are large and awkward, making writing difficult and hard to express themselves in writing.  He knows that these writings are being preserved for future generations of Gentiles (us).  He is afraid that the Gentiles will mock or make fun of the writings. (I definitely see that happening around the world). The Lord answers him, starting in verse 26

      26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn;   and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;

      27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

As I mentioned, this has confused me.  How can weak things become strong?  I believe it can, I don't doubt the Lords words, but I am analytical and want to know the "cause and effect", the "how" this can happen.  I want to know how to explain it in words in a very logical manner.  So I have pondered this from time to time over the years.  Laying in bed this morning my thoughts became clear and I knew I had to share them.  

I have always been a very weak person, or at least weak in expression.  I might have great thoughts or something to say or share, but the words wouldn't come, or if they did, I would stumble all over myself and babble and so on.  Overall, not really expressing what I wanted to say at all.  Definitely felt much like Moroni in his feeling of weakness in writing.  I felt as if no one really wanted to hear what I had to say.  I would feel as if people would make fun of, or mock, at my words.  Something has happened over the years.  I can't even tell you when or how it happened.  It just did.  There have been times in my life when I really needed the RIGHT words.  Maybe something really important that I needed to express, maybe a conversation with a child of mine going though difficulty and needing something good from me, maybe in a church class setting when a thought to share comes into my mind, maybe while teaching a class in church and needing the right words.  I have said in my mind in the form of a quick prayer, "Father, please just give the words".  I have opened my mouth and those words have come and surprised me as I was saying them. Over more recent years I have had people tell me I have a gift for articulation.  You can imagine how strange that might sound to me, given my feeling of weakness.  I will tell you there are times when the words don't come.  I trip and stumble all over the words.  I say the wrong words for what I am trying to express. Yes, it still happens a lot.  I have come to realize that  it is just a big dose of humility that I need to keep in check.  To keep me realizing just where this gift of articulation is coming from.  I am experiencing weak things being made strong, through the Lords grace, as was told to Moroni, but written for all of us to learn from.  I still worry that people will make fun of or mock what I say, or even what I write.  I started writing this blog several years ago at a time when I needed an outlet to express some thoughts.  I felt I needed people, even my own family, to get to know the real me.  I didn't think I had really given them the chance to do that.  I was always hiding the real me.  Writing became a way for me to open up and show the real me.  I still risk being mocked, I still wonder if I really have anything worth saying or writing.  I haven't blogged in a while, but I guess that's because it was easier when times were harder.  There seemed to be more contemplation, more growth, more things to write about in my journey and my parable moments along the way.  When times are good and everyday brings happiness, as it is now, the writing doesn't seem to flow.  But this morning, I had to share this.  I hope to keep writing and sharing my thoughts.  I hope and plan to keep opening my mouth, not knowing if the stumbling, bumbling, me will be expressed, or if the words put there will surprise me.  I can't risk not allowing that to happen.  I will continued to be humbled, I'm sure, but I can't risk not allowing that weakness to become even stronger.  It is a true promise, not only for Moroni, but for me and for you as well!