"Or all was lost"

I've been re-memorizing The Living Christ. As I read the last  line of the Sacrament hymn #175 O God, the Eternal Father, something clicked for me. It says: "And die, or all was lost"

In The Living Christ there is a part where they talk about the sacrament and pair that with Christ's betrayal and death: "He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of his great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob and sentenced to die on Calvary's cross." Why do they pair those? I've been wondering that over the past few weeks.

The reality is, all would have been lost if Christ did not complete the Atonement, which included great suffering, betrayal and death - all terrible things. I am tempted to think all is lost when I'm going through hard/terrible things. But, in reality we may be saved from having all be lost as we are asked to go through hard/terrible things. We always have the example and support of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We are always able to utilize the atonement and find the peace and courage to change thought patterns.

Words of Wisdom from my Teenage Self

Awhile back my parents drove across the country bringing me everything I own that had been stored at their house. Inside my hope chest I uncovered my old journals and decided to re-read them. A few nights ago I came across a great entry I just want to share:

       March 11th, 2004

My band teacher said something very profound today. He's said this before. But this was the first time I really thought about it. He said "It's not about the individual, it's about the ensemble." Now, in order for the ensemble to do well every individual has to prepare and do their part, but then they have to look out for the group and not just themselves. I think this world would not be so hard to live in if people would do this. I hope that I'm willing to give my best and be happy when the group does well, even if I don't get any credit or recognition. I think almost every aspect of my life would improve if I implemented this theory - because I would constantly be improving myself and overcoming pride, jealousy and selfishness at the same time.


Truth. I'm impressed with my high school self. I still think the world would be a better place if more people thought less about themselves and more about creating beautiful dynamics with those around them. Looks like I have a renewed to be goal :)

Smile

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

To me, this sounds like a positive version of "Fake it till yo u make it."  I like it. A lot.


I would say I have a ready smile. I would also say that my smile usually reflects feelings of joy. And I admit that my ready smile has been a little less ready of late. So, I'm going to give this philosophy a test. 


Can putting a smile on my face, even if I don't feel joy inside, bring me joy? We shall see!

Only Two Choices?

Right now I'm reading a book called The Moral Sense by James Q. Wilson. It is fascinating. In his final chapter he talks some about how we identify and "measure" pleasure. He implies that there is some other standard or measure besides just pleasure by which which we judge and evaluate the actions we take in search of pleasure:

". . . saying one pleasure is better than another implies the existence of some standard other than pleasure by which to judge things. This is obvious to anyone who has sought pleasure in the reckless satisfaction of the bodily appetites only to discover that differences in the quality of pleasures affect our chances of finding true happiness. Among the higher pleasures are the satisfactions that come from honor, sympathy, and self-respect."

I love the way he contrasts lasting joy with fleeting fun.

As I read this section of the book, I was reminded of some counsel that was shared this past weekend in the General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Randall K. Bennett shared a story about his grand-daughter who is learning about what it means to make choices:

"Our grandchildren are learning that when they make a choice, they also choose its consequences. Recently one of our three-year-old granddaughters refused to eat her dinner. Her mother explained, “It’s almost bedtime. If you choose to eat dinner, you are choosing ice cream for dessert. If you choose not to eat dinner, you are choosing to go to bed now, without ice cream.” Our granddaughter considered her two choices and then stated emphatically, “I want this choice—to play and eat only ice cream and not go to bed.” 

He follows up that humorous story with some profound insight:

"Brothers and sisters, do we wish we could play, eat only ice cream, never go to bed, and somehow avoid consequences like malnutrition and exhaustion?

In reality we have only two eternal choices, each with eternal consequences: choose to follow the Savior of the world and thus choose eternal life with our Heavenly Father or choose to follow the world and thus choose to separate ourselves from Heavenly Father eternally.

We cannot successfully choose both the safety of righteousness and the dangers of worldliness"
- Choose Eternal Life

The same idea is conveyed by an ancient prophet named Lehi at the beginning of the Book of Mormon:

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." - 2 Nephi 2:27

Lehi then encourages his sons to make wise choices and warns them of the consequences of poor choices:

"And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;

 

And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom." - 2 Nephi 2:28-29

I thought about these words from Elder Bennett and Lehi in part because of some other thoughts that James Q. Wilson shared about the effects of choice: 

"Drug abuse, street crime, and political corruption are the expression of unfettered choices."

I am grateful for the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about agency (our God given right to choose) and about the consequences of our choices, now and in the future. I am grateful for parents who taught me that my actions do not only effect me, that they also impact those around me. I am grateful to know the benefits of putting aside personal, immediate pleasure in favor of long-term happiness and benefit to myself and those around me.

I know that Wilson was right when he said, "The kind of culture that can maintain reasonable human commitments takes centuries to create but only a few generations to destroy. And once destroyed, those who suddenly realize what they have lost will also realize that political action cannot, except at a very great price, restore it." I hope that too many individuals will not give way to 'unfettered choices' in their lives. I hope that people will choose societal stability and long-term personal happiness over the third choice - "to play and eat only ice cream and not go to bed".

The Lines on My Face

I've probably heard the song 'Who Says You Can't Go Home' a hundred times before. This time when I heard it on the radio one section jumped out at me:

I went as far as I could tryin to find a new face
There isn't one of these lines that I would erase
I left a million miles of memories on that road
Every step I take I know that I'm not alone

Bon Jovi/Sugarland

Two memories came to mind: First, when I was in high school I performed in a production of The Sting. I played the narrator who is approximately 60 years old. One night I was sitting in a chair in front of the woman putting on my old woman makeup. She told me to scrunch my forehead. I did. "You sure have a lot of lines" she said. I didn't know how to respond, and my eyebrows were already raised, so I just did nothing. Maybe a minute later she says, "Oh, I meant you have a lot of lines in the play!" Which I did, but I also have quite a few lines on my forehead when I scrunch it up.

Second, I remember sitting in my Grandma Smith's kitchen making cookies (soft gingersnaps - so good!) preparing for a fishing trip we were taking with Grandpa Smith the next morning. I was probably 10 years old. I noticed that she has a lot of lines all over her face. Honestly at this point I don't remember if she called them smile crinkles or if I did. But, the point is, I remember thinking "I'm going to be proud of my 'smile crinkles' someday - they will tell the story of the life I've lived and the joy I've felt."

I still feel that way - and echo Bon Jovi's sentiment: There isn't one of these lines that I would erase."

Balance: Faith vs. Works

The concept of balance is something that fascinates me. So often I find myself coming to the conclusion that almost everything comes back to balance. My roommate gave me a copy of a talk that Bruce R. McConkie gave at Brigham Young University (Agency or Inspiration--Which? on 27 Feb 1973) and the idea of balance struck me again.

And so we're faced with two propositions. One is that we ought to be guided by the spirit of inspiration, the spirit of revelation. The other that we're here under a direction to use our agency, to determine what we ought to do on our own; and we need to strike a fine balance between these two, if we're going to pursue a course that will give us joy and satisfaction and peace in this life and lead to eternal reward in our Father's kingdom.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I believe we lived in Heaven with God before we came to this earth. He presented a plan to us where we could come to earth, receive a mortal body, be given the gift of agency, and - contingent on our choices in this life - be able to return and live with Him again after this life. I believe that God answers our prayers, and that He will lead and guide us as we seek His direction in our lives. I also have been taught that if we have to be commanded (or receive direction) in all things we are slothful servants - instead we should be engaged in many good things of our own free will (see Doc & Cov 58:26-27).

There is a phrase I have heard many times, and I think expresses some of the balance we need to seek:

Pray like everything depends on God; Then go work like everything depends on you.

(I tried to find out who said this, and I found it attributed to John Wesley, Martin Luther, and St. Augustine - and several people who suggest we should also work like it depends on God)

I think it takes faith both to ask God for help and to get off our knees and start working toward the items we ask God for help with.

We can't just ask. We can't just work hard and do it on our own. To be more clear - we are most likely to find true success and joy in our lives if we turn to God in faith AND strive to do all in our power to accomplish our goals. In the words of Bruce R. McConkie:

. . . implicit in asking in faith is the precedent requirement that we do everything in our power to accomplish the goal we seek. We use the agency with which we have been endowed. We use every faculty and capacity and ability that we possess to bring about the eventuality that may be involved.

It has been my experience that true faith in Christ leads me to action (works) and that as I do all in my power trusting that God will help me (and sometimes that means He helps me see why I can't have, or actually don't want, what I thought I did) I see His hand in my life - and as I recognize His hand in my life, my faith is strengthened.

Most of the time I don't feel like I have balance in my life - but, I am so very grateful for the chance I have to seek balance and for the direction and guidance that the principles and teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ provide as I push forward in my quest.

Strength from God

I've been reading the Book of Mormon looking for examples of how the Lord strengthens people or examples where someone does something in the strength of the Lord. This has been a neat experience, and I wanted to share something I recently learned reading with this lens.

In the Book of Mormon, there is a considerable amount of history recounted that has to do with wars being fought between two peoples - the Nephites (generally speaking, the good guys) and the Lamanites (generally speaking, the bad guys). In the 58th chapter of the book of Alma the people of Nephi are seeking to protect themselves from the people of Nephi.

10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people. (Alma 58:10)

What really struck me in this verse was that the people had to pour out their souls pleading for God to give them strength.

Then I read on:

11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.(Alma 58:11)

So often the strength the Lord grants unto us is "peace to our souls" and "great faith" that allows us to hope. I truly feel that peace is a source of strength from the Lord, and I want to express gratitude for the peace that God has granted unto me.