So, last post I explored Christ in his role as advocate. I delved into who Christ was advocating against, which I had previously thought was God/justice, but am realizing there is more to it and more to advocate against. This week I wanted to study Christ as our judge. Since I've always thought of God as taking on that role more so than Christ I thought it would be interesting particularly in light of my discoveries as Christ as advocate.
First off, Christ as our advocate and Christ as our judge -these roles seem to be a little at odds. Wouldn't an advocate advocate against a judge? Like a lawyer? He's advocating for us, why would he then turn around and judge us? These are some of the things floating around my mind as I start researching this in the topical guide.
Gen 18:25 "...Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?"
Psalm 9:8 "... he shall judge the world in righteousness..."
Isaiah 5:16 "... Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgement.."
Isa 33:22 "... Lord is our judge, the Lord is our law-giver...."
Jer 23:5 "... our King .... shall execute judgment and justice..."
Interesting- we see here that his role as judge comes with his role as King. Makes sense.
John 9:39 "... for judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see and that they which see might be made blind..."
So how does judgment enter into this? How does Christ's role as judge help to enlighten the blind and blind the seeing?? Is it because blind means innocence here? Christ is judging innocence and sin? Bringing knowledge through judgment?
Acts 10:42 "...ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead..."
I've always thought of God being the judge (justice) and Christ being the advocate (mercy) but I guess God delegated/ordained His judging authority to Christ.
Romans 2:16 "... God shall judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ..."
Perhaps Christ is in a better position to judge since He's here. He has been here. He has felt and experienced all our sins personally. You can't really ask for a better judge than that. A better judge or a better advocate.
Rev 19:2 "....true and righteous are his judgments..."
1 Jn 2:1 "... we have an advocate with the Father..."
WITH the Father, not against, but with.
2 Nephi 2:10 "And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him..."
So, because Christ is our advocate we are able to be in His presence and be judged of Him. Because of the intercession we come to Him and because we come to Him, we stand in His presence to then be judged. It is his role as advocate that qualifies Him to be our judge.
Verse 9 "..... inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all... and they that believe in Him shall be saved..."
He is the one on the front lines making intercession- going through what we go through. It's Him we have to accept. That is our criteria for being saved, so of course He is he perfect judge of that. Who knows better than He whether or not we accept Him or to what degree? Only He can judge our relationship with Him or the degree to which we have become like Him.
John 1:1 ...the Word was with God, the Word was God...
Christ is IN God, so the justice and mercy isn't God versus Christ. Since they are one, it's two different aspects of the same Being.
Every scripture under Christ, relationship with Father in the Topical Guide are about unity, not justice versus mercy. They are one.
To further understand this relationship I looked up Jesus Christ, mediator. Here are a few of the scriptures I found:
John 14:6 "No man cometh unto the Father but by me."
Again, here the thought that Christ isn't mediating between us and God He's mediating us to God.
1 Tim 1:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.
Interesting that here it does say that Christ is mediator between us and God and furthermore it lists Christ as a man as opposed to a god.
Heb 8:6 ".... he is the mediator of a better covenant..."
Gal 3:19 "[the law] was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator...."
Here it describes Christ as the mediator between transgression and the law. This makes more sense than putting him against someone- someone upholding justice. Rather it's just law or justice itself, not a person, not God even though God represents justice- Christ and God are not at odds- they are one.
Verse 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
I'm not sure exactly what this is saying, but I think it backs up my idea that God and Christ are one. Christ is not a mediator for one side or another, but for all. For us, for God. Against sin and transgression and injustice. He is judge, he is advocate, he is with God and He is perfect in all of these roles.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Jesus Christ, advocate
So for December I've decided to research a different aspect of Christ for each week. A tradition I hope to continue. I'm starting off with Jesus Christ as advocate.
At the risk of sounding like a LAME-o church talk, the definition of advocate from dictionary.com is three-fold 1. a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. 2. a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor. 3. a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.
Now think of Christ in those definitions.... Gooood. :)
2 Nephi 2:9 ".... he shall make intercession for all the children of men and they that believe him shall be saved..."
So, what does intercession mean exactly? Before looking it up, I'm guessing it is talking about intercession from the justice of God. Again, dictionary.com to the rescue. It says the definition of intercession is, "1. the act of interceding. 2. an interposing or pleading on behalf of another person or 3. a prayer to God on behalf of another person." So, then what does to intercede mean? "1. to act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition: to intercede with the governor for a condemned man. 2. to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups; mediate." Those I would say are pretty great definitions of what Christ has done for us and I find them very useful. Adding the definition of intercession into the above scripture: He shall plead on behalf of all the children of men and they that believe him shall be saved.
This scripture led me to a main question I had throughout my study of Christ as the advocate: what or who is He advocating against?
Verse 10 of the same chapter reads, "And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God, wherefore they stand in the presence of him to be judged of him."
So, Christ's intercession is what makes it possible for us to stand before God. Intercession is what Christ has doen to make us holy enough. His sacrifice that enables our repentance and cleansing. His role as advocate cleanses us so we can stand in God's presence.
2 Nephi 8:22 "... [I] the Lord thy God pleadeth the cause of his people..."
Pleadeth to who? Advocate against whom? I keep thinking God, but that's not what it says.
"...behold I ahve taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury, thou shalt no more drink it again."
Thine hand. He is advocating against ourselves and also God's fury (justice).
Verse 23 "I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, who have said to thy soul Bow down, that we may go over...."
In this verse, it describes Christ as our advocate not against ourselves or God but against some unseen power saying to our souls "Bow down!" Christ advocates against this power.
2 Nephi 13:13 "The Lord standeth up to plead and standeth to judge the people."
Interesting that he both pleads and judges -- He represents both justice and mercy.
Jacob 3:1 "....he will plead your cause and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction...."
Here Christ advocates against those who seek our destruction. Who is that? Satan? Men? He's pleading our cause to devils? or He already has? Maybe he did during the atonement. Something to think about.
It's also interesting that He pleads our cause AND sends down justice. The more scriptures I read, the more I think my assumption that Christ is our advocate against the justice of God is not complete, since Christ seems to represent both mercy and justice himself. Advocate and judge.
Mosiah 14:12 "...he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.."
Christ advocates by being numbered with us and making intercession for us.
Mosiah 15: 8 "..God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men..."
It's interesting that God is the subject here. God gave the Son power to be our advocate even though Christ is advocating to God for us. Right? Again, I think my initial idea that Christ is our advocate against God's justice is not complete. I was thinking of advocate as that second definition of to intercede, "to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups; mediate." And I was assuming the two people or groups were us and God. I don't think this is the case anymore. I think Christ pleads our case, but I don't think it's to God. I think He pleaded our case when He suffered for us. Christ is our advocate against sin, Satan, temptation, and ourselves sometimes.
John 1:1 The word was with God and the Word was God.
Christ is IN God. They are one, so the justice and mercy isn't God versus Christ- since tehy are one- it's two different aspects of the same Being. Furthermore, every scripture listed under "Jesus Christ, relationship with the Father" in the Topical Guide are about unity, not justice or mercy- never anything that puts them at odds with each other. They always stand together.
1 Jn 2:1 "...we have an advocate with the Father."
With, not against. Christ is our advocate with the Father.
At the risk of sounding like a LAME-o church talk, the definition of advocate from dictionary.com is three-fold 1. a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. 2. a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor. 3. a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.
Now think of Christ in those definitions.... Gooood. :)
2 Nephi 2:9 ".... he shall make intercession for all the children of men and they that believe him shall be saved..."
So, what does intercession mean exactly? Before looking it up, I'm guessing it is talking about intercession from the justice of God. Again, dictionary.com to the rescue. It says the definition of intercession is, "1. the act of interceding. 2. an interposing or pleading on behalf of another person or 3. a prayer to God on behalf of another person." So, then what does to intercede mean? "1. to act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition: to intercede with the governor for a condemned man. 2. to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups; mediate." Those I would say are pretty great definitions of what Christ has done for us and I find them very useful. Adding the definition of intercession into the above scripture: He shall plead on behalf of all the children of men and they that believe him shall be saved.
This scripture led me to a main question I had throughout my study of Christ as the advocate: what or who is He advocating against?
Verse 10 of the same chapter reads, "And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God, wherefore they stand in the presence of him to be judged of him."
So, Christ's intercession is what makes it possible for us to stand before God. Intercession is what Christ has doen to make us holy enough. His sacrifice that enables our repentance and cleansing. His role as advocate cleanses us so we can stand in God's presence.
2 Nephi 8:22 "... [I] the Lord thy God pleadeth the cause of his people..."
Pleadeth to who? Advocate against whom? I keep thinking God, but that's not what it says.
"...behold I ahve taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury, thou shalt no more drink it again."
Thine hand. He is advocating against ourselves and also God's fury (justice).
Verse 23 "I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, who have said to thy soul Bow down, that we may go over...."
In this verse, it describes Christ as our advocate not against ourselves or God but against some unseen power saying to our souls "Bow down!" Christ advocates against this power.
2 Nephi 13:13 "The Lord standeth up to plead and standeth to judge the people."
Interesting that he both pleads and judges -- He represents both justice and mercy.
Jacob 3:1 "....he will plead your cause and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction...."
Here Christ advocates against those who seek our destruction. Who is that? Satan? Men? He's pleading our cause to devils? or He already has? Maybe he did during the atonement. Something to think about.
It's also interesting that He pleads our cause AND sends down justice. The more scriptures I read, the more I think my assumption that Christ is our advocate against the justice of God is not complete, since Christ seems to represent both mercy and justice himself. Advocate and judge.
Mosiah 14:12 "...he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.."
Christ advocates by being numbered with us and making intercession for us.
Mosiah 15: 8 "..God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men..."
It's interesting that God is the subject here. God gave the Son power to be our advocate even though Christ is advocating to God for us. Right? Again, I think my initial idea that Christ is our advocate against God's justice is not complete. I was thinking of advocate as that second definition of to intercede, "to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups; mediate." And I was assuming the two people or groups were us and God. I don't think this is the case anymore. I think Christ pleads our case, but I don't think it's to God. I think He pleaded our case when He suffered for us. Christ is our advocate against sin, Satan, temptation, and ourselves sometimes.
John 1:1 The word was with God and the Word was God.
Christ is IN God. They are one, so the justice and mercy isn't God versus Christ- since tehy are one- it's two different aspects of the same Being. Furthermore, every scripture listed under "Jesus Christ, relationship with the Father" in the Topical Guide are about unity, not justice or mercy- never anything that puts them at odds with each other. They always stand together.
1 Jn 2:1 "...we have an advocate with the Father."
With, not against. Christ is our advocate with the Father.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Soft vs hard parenting
Back story: so recently I've been thinking about potty training. A lot. I've picked up a few books from the library. One of which seems to promote a parent decides model, another favors a child decides model. I've been thinking a lot about parenting in general lately as well, so I decided to take my quandaries to the scriptures.
My study question of the week was what is the balance between ordering children to do something and giving them their freedom? How often/when do you force vs letting them decide? (I think this topic will be reviewed in future years as well since it's applicable to a whole lot more than potty training).
I started by looking up family, children, responsibilities toward in the topical guide.
Deut 6:7 "...teach your children diligently..."
Deut 32: 46 "....command your children to do all the words of this law"
I'm looking a lot at the verbs in the verses listed here under responsibilities toward children. I'm noticing a trend already: teach diligently, command. In many of these verses the verb used is teach. I figure the most important responsibility is love, but that was it's own section, so this is more about teaching and other responsibilities.
Proverbs 13: 24 "... He that spareth his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."
Ok the beginning of the verse sounds a bit harsh, but the second part is what I'm looking at here. Kids need to be chastened betimes. It's what God does with us. It's how we grow and for our own good. He chastens us and backs off to let us grow and learn.
Proverbs 22: 6 (2 Nephi 4: 5) "... Train up a child inthe way he should go."
Prov 23: 13 "... withhold not correction from the child..."
Again, so far my search is turning up much more about the parent holding the responsibility to teach, train, command and correct than anything else.
Col 3: 21 "... provoke not your children to anger..."
1 Nephi 1:1 "... having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught..."
1 Nephi 8: 57 "...he did exhort them with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words.... yea my father did preach to them..."
I LOVE the phrase "exhort with all the feeling of a tender parent." It's exactly what I was looking for: parents should be strong and firm but also tender. We exhort because we love. Exhorting should be done with tenderness.
Eph 6: 4 "....and ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
I like the phrase nurture AND admonition. Again this balance between firm and tender- soft and hard, nurture and admonition. Also, don't make your children angry.
Enos 1:1 "...I Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man- for he taught me in his language and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
The phrase "he taught me in his language" really struck me while reading this. I was thinking about it and I think it maybe means he taught in his own way- using his own talents. Enos's father taught him in the way he knew how- with his unique perspective and personality. So, first off Enos's father taught in his way, but also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, he uses his talents and opinions but also strikes that balance with the Lord's way. I like that. Using his language- no one right way to parent, we all have our own languages with our children, but should all raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Mosiah 1:4 ".....teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach..."
Ok, this may sound silly but this is just like the potty training book- have your child teach a doll until they have the process down. Teaching is a great learning tool no matter what the subject :)
Alma 39: 16 "... prepare the minds of their children to hear the word...."
Preparation is an important part of teaching children.
Joshua 24: 15 ...."choose ye this day whom ye will serve.... as for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
"As for me and my house we will ..." here the adult is deciding for his whole household. You get to choose when you're older but when kids live in your house- you can choose for your house- the adult decides.
1 Samuel 3: 13 "For I will judge his house forever for the iniquity..... because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not...."
This is interesting- we should restrain them when they are making vile choices.
Proverbs 29: 15 "The rod and reproof give wisdom bu a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
This is pretty clear and it answers my question pretty well. Don't leave a kid alone to choose. Reprimand bad choices.
3 Jn 1:4 "I ahve no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth"
We should take joy in our kids. It should be our greatest joy to teach them and see them succeed.
Jacob 2:35 "... ye have lost the confidence of your children because of your bad examples before them...."
Live in a way to gain your kids confidence.
Psalms 113: 9 "be a joyful mother of children."
After all this studying about responsibilities toward children, I looked up family duties in the topical guide. Here are some things I found on family duties:
1 Peter 3:10 "For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that htey speak no guile."
I then listened to L Tom Perry's recent conference address called "Becoming Goodly Parents" and here are some notes I took:
- place your marriage as your highest priority
- make life enjoyable for your family that they will want to follow in your footsteps- have fun
- pray in earnest that God will help you love, guie and understand your children
- strive to understand your childn's special and specific needs
- organize your family based on clear, simple family rules and expectations and stick to them
- children should have household responsibilities and earn allowance
- our strenthened family cultures will be a protection for our children from their peer cultures
- teach the doctrine of Christ so they know why to share
- build a strong family culture. Build it. Fuel it.
Responsibilities of a parent: teach, train, exhort, love, provide for, nurture.
My study question of the week was what is the balance between ordering children to do something and giving them their freedom? How often/when do you force vs letting them decide? (I think this topic will be reviewed in future years as well since it's applicable to a whole lot more than potty training).
I started by looking up family, children, responsibilities toward in the topical guide.
Deut 6:7 "...teach your children diligently..."
Deut 32: 46 "....command your children to do all the words of this law"
I'm looking a lot at the verbs in the verses listed here under responsibilities toward children. I'm noticing a trend already: teach diligently, command. In many of these verses the verb used is teach. I figure the most important responsibility is love, but that was it's own section, so this is more about teaching and other responsibilities.
Proverbs 13: 24 "... He that spareth his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."
Ok the beginning of the verse sounds a bit harsh, but the second part is what I'm looking at here. Kids need to be chastened betimes. It's what God does with us. It's how we grow and for our own good. He chastens us and backs off to let us grow and learn.
Proverbs 22: 6 (2 Nephi 4: 5) "... Train up a child inthe way he should go."
Prov 23: 13 "... withhold not correction from the child..."
Again, so far my search is turning up much more about the parent holding the responsibility to teach, train, command and correct than anything else.
Col 3: 21 "... provoke not your children to anger..."
1 Nephi 1:1 "... having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught..."
1 Nephi 8: 57 "...he did exhort them with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words.... yea my father did preach to them..."
I LOVE the phrase "exhort with all the feeling of a tender parent." It's exactly what I was looking for: parents should be strong and firm but also tender. We exhort because we love. Exhorting should be done with tenderness.
Eph 6: 4 "....and ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
I like the phrase nurture AND admonition. Again this balance between firm and tender- soft and hard, nurture and admonition. Also, don't make your children angry.
Enos 1:1 "...I Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man- for he taught me in his language and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
The phrase "he taught me in his language" really struck me while reading this. I was thinking about it and I think it maybe means he taught in his own way- using his own talents. Enos's father taught him in the way he knew how- with his unique perspective and personality. So, first off Enos's father taught in his way, but also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, he uses his talents and opinions but also strikes that balance with the Lord's way. I like that. Using his language- no one right way to parent, we all have our own languages with our children, but should all raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Mosiah 1:4 ".....teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach..."
Ok, this may sound silly but this is just like the potty training book- have your child teach a doll until they have the process down. Teaching is a great learning tool no matter what the subject :)
Alma 39: 16 "... prepare the minds of their children to hear the word...."
Preparation is an important part of teaching children.
Joshua 24: 15 ...."choose ye this day whom ye will serve.... as for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
"As for me and my house we will ..." here the adult is deciding for his whole household. You get to choose when you're older but when kids live in your house- you can choose for your house- the adult decides.
1 Samuel 3: 13 "For I will judge his house forever for the iniquity..... because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not...."
This is interesting- we should restrain them when they are making vile choices.
Proverbs 29: 15 "The rod and reproof give wisdom bu a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
This is pretty clear and it answers my question pretty well. Don't leave a kid alone to choose. Reprimand bad choices.
3 Jn 1:4 "I ahve no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth"
We should take joy in our kids. It should be our greatest joy to teach them and see them succeed.
Jacob 2:35 "... ye have lost the confidence of your children because of your bad examples before them...."
Live in a way to gain your kids confidence.
Psalms 113: 9 "be a joyful mother of children."
After all this studying about responsibilities toward children, I looked up family duties in the topical guide. Here are some things I found on family duties:
1 Peter 3:10 "For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that htey speak no guile."
I then listened to L Tom Perry's recent conference address called "Becoming Goodly Parents" and here are some notes I took:
- place your marriage as your highest priority
- make life enjoyable for your family that they will want to follow in your footsteps- have fun
- pray in earnest that God will help you love, guie and understand your children
- strive to understand your childn's special and specific needs
- organize your family based on clear, simple family rules and expectations and stick to them
- children should have household responsibilities and earn allowance
- our strenthened family cultures will be a protection for our children from their peer cultures
- teach the doctrine of Christ so they know why to share
- build a strong family culture. Build it. Fuel it.
Responsibilities of a parent: teach, train, exhort, love, provide for, nurture.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Idleness and Slothfullness
I've been feeling really tired lately. Tired and lazy. Or maybe lazy because of tired? Unknown. In any case, I've been feeling like I need some motivation in my life, so my study question of the week was how do I work hard through tiredness? How do I gain motivation to not be lazy?
I started by looking up idleness in the topical guide. Here are a few scriptures I found that way:
Alma 1:32 For those who did not belong to their church did indulge themselves in..... cidleness
The footnote for idleness says laziness. So we learn here that idleness is the antithesis of church membership? Well, one of many- there is a bit of a list here that I left out.
Alma 24:20 [converted Lamanites covenant that] .... rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.
So it was a covenant with God for them. Is it with us too? I believe so in the temple at least. In baptism too? I'm not sure. Anyway our promise with god should be good motivation. And in this same verse the Anti-Nephi-Lehis say they'd bury their weapons of war, which isn't exactly a covenant for us. Does that mean hard work is something above and beyond our covenants? I don't think so. I think hard work is a way to show God our devotion.
Alma 22:28 the more aidle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents
In the scriptures many times a lack of idleness has a direct correlation to prosperity. If you keep the commandments ye will prosper in the land. Working hard is a commandment.
D & C 75: 29 the bidler shall not have place in the church
Again a lack of idleness is linked to church membership. So far in my study I'm getting that idleness is linked to inactivity in the church and failing to prosper in the land. (and D & C seems particularly full of council to not be idle. Joseph Smith maybe knew of modern day conveniences to come). I'll be honest, so far my study has not provided me with great motivation in my daily struggles with laziness. Next, I'll look up slothfullness in the topical guide.
Matt 25: 26 Thou wicked and slothful servant
Christ is speaking here to the servant He gave one talent to and he buried it in the parable of the talents. We should not be slothful in the development of our talents- must work hard to gain more.
Hebrews 6: 10 For God [does not] forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewd toward his name in that ye have ministered to the Saints and do minister.
This is just here documented because I felt the Spirit as I read this verse. Maybe not doing oh so bad.
Hebrews 6:12 .... be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promise.
I think this verse helped me more than any other I studied this week. Combat slothfulness with FAITH and PATIENCE. I never made this link before, but it does take faith- that I can do it and that it will be worht it. And it takes persistent patience in well doing that even when we don't see results of hard work- we keep going. Faith and patience. I've tried to remember this when I want to waste time on the computer and don't see a reason not too- it first takes faith that it will be worth it not to- that that is what God would have me do. And faith that I will be blessed for doing so. Then, also patience with myself when I don't want to do it or when I fail. Faith and patience.
Alma 37: 41 .... because those miracles were worked by asmall means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were bslothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;
We must always remember by small things are great things brought to pass. We cannot be slothful with our faith in this or we will not progress. Faith AND diligence.
Alma 33: 21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in aunbelief, and be bslothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?
Replace "casting about your eyes" with "being productive." Would ye not do it quickly to be healed? Now, replace "healed" with "accomplish your goals." Would ye not do it quickly? Again, it's the small stuff- merely doing the small productive things will heal us.
Faith, patience, diligence. Do the small things.
I started by looking up idleness in the topical guide. Here are a few scriptures I found that way:
Alma 1:32 For those who did not belong to their church did indulge themselves in..... cidleness
The footnote for idleness says laziness. So we learn here that idleness is the antithesis of church membership? Well, one of many- there is a bit of a list here that I left out.
Alma 24:20 [converted Lamanites covenant that] .... rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.
So it was a covenant with God for them. Is it with us too? I believe so in the temple at least. In baptism too? I'm not sure. Anyway our promise with god should be good motivation. And in this same verse the Anti-Nephi-Lehis say they'd bury their weapons of war, which isn't exactly a covenant for us. Does that mean hard work is something above and beyond our covenants? I don't think so. I think hard work is a way to show God our devotion.
Alma 22:28 the more aidle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents
In the scriptures many times a lack of idleness has a direct correlation to prosperity. If you keep the commandments ye will prosper in the land. Working hard is a commandment.
D & C 75: 29 the bidler shall not have place in the church
Again a lack of idleness is linked to church membership. So far in my study I'm getting that idleness is linked to inactivity in the church and failing to prosper in the land. (and D & C seems particularly full of council to not be idle. Joseph Smith maybe knew of modern day conveniences to come). I'll be honest, so far my study has not provided me with great motivation in my daily struggles with laziness. Next, I'll look up slothfullness in the topical guide.
Matt 25: 26 Thou wicked and slothful servant
Christ is speaking here to the servant He gave one talent to and he buried it in the parable of the talents. We should not be slothful in the development of our talents- must work hard to gain more.
Hebrews 6: 10 For God [does not] forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewd toward his name in that ye have ministered to the Saints and do minister.
This is just here documented because I felt the Spirit as I read this verse. Maybe not doing oh so bad.
Hebrews 6:12 .... be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promise.
I think this verse helped me more than any other I studied this week. Combat slothfulness with FAITH and PATIENCE. I never made this link before, but it does take faith- that I can do it and that it will be worht it. And it takes persistent patience in well doing that even when we don't see results of hard work- we keep going. Faith and patience. I've tried to remember this when I want to waste time on the computer and don't see a reason not too- it first takes faith that it will be worth it not to- that that is what God would have me do. And faith that I will be blessed for doing so. Then, also patience with myself when I don't want to do it or when I fail. Faith and patience.
Alma 37: 41 .... because those miracles were worked by asmall means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were bslothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;
We must always remember by small things are great things brought to pass. We cannot be slothful with our faith in this or we will not progress. Faith AND diligence.
Alma 33: 21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in aunbelief, and be bslothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?
Replace "casting about your eyes" with "being productive." Would ye not do it quickly to be healed? Now, replace "healed" with "accomplish your goals." Would ye not do it quickly? Again, it's the small stuff- merely doing the small productive things will heal us.
Faith, patience, diligence. Do the small things.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Judging
My study question last week was how do I stop judging others? This one is kind of linked to last week's topic- loving and liking. I know it's wrong to judge, but I know that I do it, so how do I stop? How do I prevent those negative thoughts from entering in and festering?
I started my search with the notion from 3 Nephi 14:1 "Judge not that ye be not judged." It's pretty good advice since I know I have many faults. Verses 2-6 of the same chapter go on to say that you will be judged with the same standards you judge others with. Why do you focus on the mote in your brother's eye and ignore the beam in your own? I should deal with that beam first definitely.
This was good to know and remember, but it didn't really tell me how I should do it. For me my answer came clearly and strongly in Moroni chapter 7. The whole chapter. I felt like it was written just for me, just for this problem. I've read it many times but never in the light of how to not judge others. It was very enlightening.
Moroni 7: 16 I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
I replaced "every thing" with everyone. So, everyone which inviteth to do good ... is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ and ye may know it is of God. The vast majority of people I know are good, and they invite to do good, so I know they are of God. Most people are trying to do good, not trying to hurt, we can't focus on their shortcomings- they are still good and of God.
Verse 18: And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.
I do not wish to be judged based on my faults instead of my strengths, ergo I need to judge others emphasizing their strengths not their faults. I do not seem like such a good person when my faults are the only things looked at. Always judge by the light of Christ.
Verse 19: Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the alight of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a bchild of Christ.
Lay hold upon every good thing means to focus on people's good points- every one of them- every good thing. Grasp onto their good points. Condemn it not means do not condemn their faults. And then ye will certainly be a child of Christ.
Verse 20 asks how: ".... and now how is it possible that ye can lay hold of every good thing?" And verse 21 holds the answer: "...And now I come to that faith ... and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing." The answer is FAITH.
Verse 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of aangels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing...."
So it is by faith. And it is by the ministering of angels and God's word we begin to exercise or gain faith. Scriptures/prayer. Knew they'd play a role. It goes on to say that by these things MIRACLES are brought to pass. Even the miracle of not judging someone who is difficult not to judge- this can be a miracle and can happen based on my faith.
Verse 26: ....cWhatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.
Bam. Prayer + faith and God will help us out.
Verse 27: ....he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will acleave unto every good thing.....
So if we have faith, we WILL be able to cleave unto people's good attributes. Faith in His power, not in your own is all it takes.
Verse 33: And Christ hath said: aIf ye will have bfaith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is cexpedient in me.
I'm sure Christ wants me not to judge so if I have faith, He will grant me power to accomplish it.
Verse 37: it is by faith that amiracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of bunbelief, and all is vain.
Again, faith can bring miracles and ministering of angels- that's how God can help me and if He doesn't it is because of my unbelief or lack of faith.
Verse 39: But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not afit to be numbered among the people of his church.
Moroni thinks I do have faith :)
Verse 40: ....How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
Good question. So in order to attain faith- I first need hope.
Verse 41: And what is it that ye shall ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
Pretty clear. What should we hope for? The atonement.
Verse 44: 3 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be ameek, and lowly of heart.
I started my search with the notion from 3 Nephi 14:1 "Judge not that ye be not judged." It's pretty good advice since I know I have many faults. Verses 2-6 of the same chapter go on to say that you will be judged with the same standards you judge others with. Why do you focus on the mote in your brother's eye and ignore the beam in your own? I should deal with that beam first definitely.
This was good to know and remember, but it didn't really tell me how I should do it. For me my answer came clearly and strongly in Moroni chapter 7. The whole chapter. I felt like it was written just for me, just for this problem. I've read it many times but never in the light of how to not judge others. It was very enlightening.
Moroni 7: 16 I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
I replaced "every thing" with everyone. So, everyone which inviteth to do good ... is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ and ye may know it is of God. The vast majority of people I know are good, and they invite to do good, so I know they are of God. Most people are trying to do good, not trying to hurt, we can't focus on their shortcomings- they are still good and of God.
Verse 18: And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.
I do not wish to be judged based on my faults instead of my strengths, ergo I need to judge others emphasizing their strengths not their faults. I do not seem like such a good person when my faults are the only things looked at. Always judge by the light of Christ.
Verse 19: Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the alight of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a bchild of Christ.
Lay hold upon every good thing means to focus on people's good points- every one of them- every good thing. Grasp onto their good points. Condemn it not means do not condemn their faults. And then ye will certainly be a child of Christ.
Verse 20 asks how: ".... and now how is it possible that ye can lay hold of every good thing?" And verse 21 holds the answer: "...And now I come to that faith ... and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing." The answer is FAITH.
Verse 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of aangels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing...."
So it is by faith. And it is by the ministering of angels and God's word we begin to exercise or gain faith. Scriptures/prayer. Knew they'd play a role. It goes on to say that by these things MIRACLES are brought to pass. Even the miracle of not judging someone who is difficult not to judge- this can be a miracle and can happen based on my faith.
Verse 26: ....cWhatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.
Bam. Prayer + faith and God will help us out.
Verse 27: ....he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will acleave unto every good thing.....
So if we have faith, we WILL be able to cleave unto people's good attributes. Faith in His power, not in your own is all it takes.
Verse 33: And Christ hath said: aIf ye will have bfaith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is cexpedient in me.
I'm sure Christ wants me not to judge so if I have faith, He will grant me power to accomplish it.
Verse 37: it is by faith that amiracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of bunbelief, and all is vain.
Again, faith can bring miracles and ministering of angels- that's how God can help me and if He doesn't it is because of my unbelief or lack of faith.
Verse 39: But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not afit to be numbered among the people of his church.
Moroni thinks I do have faith :)
Verse 40: ....How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
Good question. So in order to attain faith- I first need hope.
Verse 41: And what is it that ye shall ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
Pretty clear. What should we hope for? The atonement.
Verse 44: 3 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be ameek, and lowly of heart.
44 If so, his afaith and hope is vain, for none is bacceptable before God, save the cmeek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and dconfesses
by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs
have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he
must needs have charity.
Ok, a few more qualifying statements here. First we have to be meek and lowly of heart to have faith and hope and the clincher: we must have CHARITY! For, without charity, we are nothing.
Verse 45: Charity suffereth long and is kind.
This verse goes on to explain a host of other attributes of charity. But this right here was enough for me- charity suffereth long AND is kind. It's hard- we suffer. We suffer for a long time, BUT we're also kind. Kindness through the suffering. It was reassuring to me that it says here that charity isn't easy- it suffereth long in fact, but it's possible to be kind through the suffering long. And if we can do that, we're promised everything. And most importantly- charity.
Verse 46: ....Charity never faileth.... cleave unto charity..... for all things must fail, but charity never faileth.
Nothing else will work- everything else will faith- cleave unto charity- it will work every time.
Verse 47: Charity endureth forever.
It works every time forever.
Verse 48: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, apray
unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled
with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall cbe like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be dpurified even as he is pure. Amen.
Love this. Pray with all the energy of heart to be filled with this love. Here is the answer- pray. But not just pray- pray will all the energy of your heart to be filled with charity for people- for specific people. It will work. Faith, hope charity. Obtain it through prayer, belief and hope that the prayer for charity will work- suffer long and be kind. Pray.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Loving and liking
Ok, my study question for last week was: Can you love someone without liking them? How do you love those you don't like?
I completely understand that loving everyone is a commandment, and I strive to keep it. But sometimes, some people come into your pathway in life and well, it's hard. I'm not talking about people who offend or wrong me at all. I'm just talking about people who are kind of hard to like. So, can you love someone as a child of God, your brother or sister in the gospel without really liking them? Or if you truly love them as a child of God will you like them as a result?
I wasn't sure where to start this search. I began in the topical guide looking at things like friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood, and fellowship. And I looked up scriptures I thought might help. Here we go.
Started with D&C 88: 133: .... I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to afellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your bfriend and cbrother through the grace of God in the bonds of love ....
I took friend and brother to mean like and love here. Friend is to like as brother is to love. You can have like AND love THROUGH the grace (enabling power) of God. God's grace can lead us to like and love after we fulfill our covenant to fellowship. So I take this to mean that God will step in and help us to both like and love if we put forth the effort to fellowship. So now I need to figure out what it means to fellowship...
1 John 4: 16 - 17: .....God is love; and he that adwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect.....
We know the love of God. Let that love spread to others and once we 'dwell' in love, God will perfect our love. Same as above, grace can make up for our lack of liking once we start to love. The phrase "our love can become perfect" I take to mean that we can move beyond loving (as a fellow child of God) to liking. Perfect love would include liking I think. So, our part is to dwell in love/God. This maybe answers my question above- is it possible to love without liking? Probably not because once we really love (dwell in love) God will perfect it (liking).
Verse 18 was also instructive: There is no afear in blove; but perfect clove casteth out fear: because fear hath dtorment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
This verse wasn't in my initial search, but it got me thinking. I never thought about fear entering the like/love equation before. Two thoughts: first, fear can prohibit fellowship (which we need to acquire grace in our love). We can fear we will run into them/have to spend time with them, fear of what they will say will bother you, fear you will encourage what you don't like about them, fear of having to judge them, etc etc. Fear is at the heart of a lot of it- must cast out all fear. Second thought is that fear prohibits faith and you must have faith God will help you begin to love and then perfect the love. So, must cast out all fears. How? D&C 38:30 "..if ye are prepared ye shall not fear..." So, how do I prepare to fellowship?
D &C 38: 24: ...and let every man esteem his brother as himself....
What does esteem mean? To treat? And who is our brother? First, let's look at what it means to esteem. The footnote under esteem lists
Deuteronomy 17:20: That his heart be not lifted up above his abrethren, and that he bturn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left....
So from this we learn that to esteem means not thinking yourself as better or worse than your neighbor.
1 Cor 4: 6-7 that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be apuffed up for one against another.
I completely understand that loving everyone is a commandment, and I strive to keep it. But sometimes, some people come into your pathway in life and well, it's hard. I'm not talking about people who offend or wrong me at all. I'm just talking about people who are kind of hard to like. So, can you love someone as a child of God, your brother or sister in the gospel without really liking them? Or if you truly love them as a child of God will you like them as a result?
I wasn't sure where to start this search. I began in the topical guide looking at things like friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood, and fellowship. And I looked up scriptures I thought might help. Here we go.
Started with D&C 88: 133: .... I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to afellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your bfriend and cbrother through the grace of God in the bonds of love ....
I took friend and brother to mean like and love here. Friend is to like as brother is to love. You can have like AND love THROUGH the grace (enabling power) of God. God's grace can lead us to like and love after we fulfill our covenant to fellowship. So I take this to mean that God will step in and help us to both like and love if we put forth the effort to fellowship. So now I need to figure out what it means to fellowship...
1 John 4: 16 - 17: .....God is love; and he that adwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect.....
We know the love of God. Let that love spread to others and once we 'dwell' in love, God will perfect our love. Same as above, grace can make up for our lack of liking once we start to love. The phrase "our love can become perfect" I take to mean that we can move beyond loving (as a fellow child of God) to liking. Perfect love would include liking I think. So, our part is to dwell in love/God. This maybe answers my question above- is it possible to love without liking? Probably not because once we really love (dwell in love) God will perfect it (liking).
Verse 18 was also instructive: There is no afear in blove; but perfect clove casteth out fear: because fear hath dtorment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
This verse wasn't in my initial search, but it got me thinking. I never thought about fear entering the like/love equation before. Two thoughts: first, fear can prohibit fellowship (which we need to acquire grace in our love). We can fear we will run into them/have to spend time with them, fear of what they will say will bother you, fear you will encourage what you don't like about them, fear of having to judge them, etc etc. Fear is at the heart of a lot of it- must cast out all fear. Second thought is that fear prohibits faith and you must have faith God will help you begin to love and then perfect the love. So, must cast out all fears. How? D&C 38:30 "..if ye are prepared ye shall not fear..." So, how do I prepare to fellowship?
D &C 38: 24: ...and let every man esteem his brother as himself....
What does esteem mean? To treat? And who is our brother? First, let's look at what it means to esteem. The footnote under esteem lists
Deuteronomy 17:20: That his heart be not lifted up above his abrethren, and that he bturn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left....
So from this we learn that to esteem means not thinking yourself as better or worse than your neighbor.
1 Cor 4: 6-7 that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be apuffed up for one against another.
7 For who maketh thee ato differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not breceive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
We're all the same and we all received everything we have and are- (including some personality traits) from God. Therefore we can't view ourselves as higher than anyone in any regard.
Ok, now let's look at who our brother is. The footnote here lists
Acts 17: 26-34: ....and hath made of one blood all nations of men..... we are also his offspring.
So, everyone. Everyone is our brother. We are all offspring of God. We must love everyone- esteem every man (our brother) as ourselves.
Romans 15: 1-2: We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. v2 Let not everyone of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.
Let us please our neighbors for THEIR good to edification- meaning please them- give them what they want.
Ok, so sorry if those last scriptures seemed jumbled- I didn't get a chance to take very good notes the last couple of days there on what I was thinking or linking it all back together, but here's the main point I kept coming back to with the question of liking those we love-- God will help us. And here's where it links well with last week's study of the atonement. When we put forth the effort to see and treat everyone as children of God and fellowship them- God will step in and strengthen us with His enabling power (grace or power of the atonement) to make our love perfect. I really believe God can help us like someone if we first try to love them.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The enabling power of the atonement and sanctification
Ever since reading Elder Bednar's talk "In the Strength of the Lord" I've wanted to use the atonement of Jesus Christ not only to repent but also to improve my weaknesses. He says in the talk that the atonement is not only to make bad men good (ie repentance) but to make good men better. I read this talk first back in April and thought a lot about it. I read it right around conference time and I wished to use this enabling power to help me with my goals for improvement from conference.
Six months later I can say that it truly worked. I'm not sure how. I just prayed that I could use the atonement specifically, for my specific goals and I've definitely seen huge improvements in the areas of those goals since that time. I can attribute this to the atonement I believe, but I'm still not sure how exactly and I wanted to learn more about what I can do to use the atonement to improve.
So I set out to study it in the scriptures. I decided that I would specifically search through the term 'sanctification' since repentance seemed to be the first step, then further improvement through sanctification, or making holy. Here are some things I learned about sanctification in the scriptures and how it ties to improving through the atonement:
Hel 3: 35 ... they did afast and bpray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their chumility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the dpurifying and the esanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their fyielding their hearts unto God.
So we are sanctified by yielding our hearts to God, but also by 1. fasting and praying oft, 2. increasing humility and 3. increasing faith of Christ. Joy and consolation are side effects of the sanctification process. The verse before this (34) also mentions that they became this way because of affliction. So we can be sanctified through trials.
Alma 5:54 ... they have been brought into this church, having beenasanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are meet for repentance—
We are sanctified BY the Holy Spirit- this is key I think- the Holy Ghost has a sanctifying effect. So the more we allow/invite the Holy Ghost in, the further we will be sanctified. Also, the atonement is brought in this process through repentance.
Alma 13: 11-12 ... they were called after this holy order, and wereasanctified, and their bgarments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. v 12 Now they, after being asanctified by the bHoly Ghost, having their garments made white, being cpure and spotless before God, could not look upon dsin save it were with eabhorrence...
Here it says they were sanctified and then washed white through the atonement, which is interesting because it seems like the order is reversed. It seems the process can go both ways. As they were sanctified by the Holy Ghost, their garments were made white in the process of sanctification. Sanctification <-> atonement. Reciprocal. In order to be sanctified you must first repent, utilizing the atonement and then in the process of sanctification you are further made white through the blood of the lamb.
3 Nephi 27 20 ...aRepent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be bbaptized in my name, that ye may be csanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand dspotless before me at the last day....
Here it says you are sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost. Interesting. Both at baptism and I'm guessing whenever you receive the Holy Ghost it sanctifies you a little. This is why we need to invite the Spirit all the time.
So in order to use the atonement to be better we need to do everything we can to invite/feel/allow the Spirit and have that sanctify us (through the blood of the lamb). Without the atonement would the Holy Ghost/sanctification be able to cleanse/sanctify? No. We must first be clean.
Moroni 10: 33 ...if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the bblood of Christ...
I thought the prepositions in this verse were particularly interesting- perfect IN Christ, sanctified IN Christ BY the grace of God THROUGH the shedding of blood of Christ. What does sanctified IN Christ mean? We are sanctified by the grace of God- (how it's done) through the atonement. God granted it to be done by His grace and Christ carried it out. I guess the perfection and sanctification process are one in the same.
Moroni 4: 3 bless and asanctify this bbread to the souls of all those who partake of it
Sanctify the bread TO those who partake- so we become sanctified as we worthily partake of the sacrament. The bread and water need to be set apart and made holy same as us.
And finally here are some notes I took while re-reading Elder Bednar's talk on the subject (who actually doesn't really mention sanctification, but I still think it's tied).
He starts out with a scripture- Mosiah 3:19 "...putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement..." So 1. putteth off the natural man = the redeeming and cleansing power of the atonement (avoiding bad. Bad -> good.) and 2. becometh a saint - strengthening and enabling power of the atonement (becoming good. good -> better). The atonement is just as necessary to the second process as it is to the first.
"The Lord desires through His atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost to live in us- not only to direct us but also to empower us."
"Do not pray to have your circumstances changed. Rather, pray for the strength to change your circumstances." This is a key point to his talk- he goes back to this many times and repeats it over and over. I was a little surprised that this is so key since it seemingly doesn't involve the atonement, but I think it is crucial to unlocking the enabling power of the atonement.
"It is through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement and repentance, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means."
I also felt that this process of using the atonement to improve is very tied to the basic principles and ordinances of the gospel (the gospel process) - 1. faith 2. repentance 3. baptism (sacrament) 4. Holy Ghost 5. Enduring to the end. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. Steps 3 and 4 obviously have to do with the redeeming power of the atonement and I really think step 5 has a lot to do with the sanctification part of it. With faith rolled into all of it.
So, ending points- it is crucial to have the Holy Ghost in order to be sanctified and in order to invite the enabling power of Christ's atonement (also known as grace) to improve us. Pray, have faith, repent, then invite the Spirit as much as possible throughout days/trials/life and endure by praying for strength to change circumstances rather than just praying circumstances will change. If we do these things we will invite grace to change our natures and improve our weaknesses.
Six months later I can say that it truly worked. I'm not sure how. I just prayed that I could use the atonement specifically, for my specific goals and I've definitely seen huge improvements in the areas of those goals since that time. I can attribute this to the atonement I believe, but I'm still not sure how exactly and I wanted to learn more about what I can do to use the atonement to improve.
So I set out to study it in the scriptures. I decided that I would specifically search through the term 'sanctification' since repentance seemed to be the first step, then further improvement through sanctification, or making holy. Here are some things I learned about sanctification in the scriptures and how it ties to improving through the atonement:
Hel 3: 35 ... they did afast and bpray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their chumility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the dpurifying and the esanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their fyielding their hearts unto God.
So we are sanctified by yielding our hearts to God, but also by 1. fasting and praying oft, 2. increasing humility and 3. increasing faith of Christ. Joy and consolation are side effects of the sanctification process. The verse before this (34) also mentions that they became this way because of affliction. So we can be sanctified through trials.
Alma 5:54 ... they have been brought into this church, having beenasanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are meet for repentance—
We are sanctified BY the Holy Spirit- this is key I think- the Holy Ghost has a sanctifying effect. So the more we allow/invite the Holy Ghost in, the further we will be sanctified. Also, the atonement is brought in this process through repentance.
Alma 13: 11-12 ... they were called after this holy order, and wereasanctified, and their bgarments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. v 12 Now they, after being asanctified by the bHoly Ghost, having their garments made white, being cpure and spotless before God, could not look upon dsin save it were with eabhorrence...
Here it says they were sanctified and then washed white through the atonement, which is interesting because it seems like the order is reversed. It seems the process can go both ways. As they were sanctified by the Holy Ghost, their garments were made white in the process of sanctification. Sanctification <-> atonement. Reciprocal. In order to be sanctified you must first repent, utilizing the atonement and then in the process of sanctification you are further made white through the blood of the lamb.
3 Nephi 27 20 ...aRepent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be bbaptized in my name, that ye may be csanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand dspotless before me at the last day....
Here it says you are sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost. Interesting. Both at baptism and I'm guessing whenever you receive the Holy Ghost it sanctifies you a little. This is why we need to invite the Spirit all the time.
So in order to use the atonement to be better we need to do everything we can to invite/feel/allow the Spirit and have that sanctify us (through the blood of the lamb). Without the atonement would the Holy Ghost/sanctification be able to cleanse/sanctify? No. We must first be clean.
Moroni 10: 33 ...if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the bblood of Christ...
I thought the prepositions in this verse were particularly interesting- perfect IN Christ, sanctified IN Christ BY the grace of God THROUGH the shedding of blood of Christ. What does sanctified IN Christ mean? We are sanctified by the grace of God- (how it's done) through the atonement. God granted it to be done by His grace and Christ carried it out. I guess the perfection and sanctification process are one in the same.
Moroni 4: 3 bless and asanctify this bbread to the souls of all those who partake of it
Sanctify the bread TO those who partake- so we become sanctified as we worthily partake of the sacrament. The bread and water need to be set apart and made holy same as us.
And finally here are some notes I took while re-reading Elder Bednar's talk on the subject (who actually doesn't really mention sanctification, but I still think it's tied).
He starts out with a scripture- Mosiah 3:19 "...putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement..." So 1. putteth off the natural man = the redeeming and cleansing power of the atonement (avoiding bad. Bad -> good.) and 2. becometh a saint - strengthening and enabling power of the atonement (becoming good. good -> better). The atonement is just as necessary to the second process as it is to the first.
"The Lord desires through His atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost to live in us- not only to direct us but also to empower us."
"Do not pray to have your circumstances changed. Rather, pray for the strength to change your circumstances." This is a key point to his talk- he goes back to this many times and repeats it over and over. I was a little surprised that this is so key since it seemingly doesn't involve the atonement, but I think it is crucial to unlocking the enabling power of the atonement.
"It is through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement and repentance, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means."
I also felt that this process of using the atonement to improve is very tied to the basic principles and ordinances of the gospel (the gospel process) - 1. faith 2. repentance 3. baptism (sacrament) 4. Holy Ghost 5. Enduring to the end. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. Steps 3 and 4 obviously have to do with the redeeming power of the atonement and I really think step 5 has a lot to do with the sanctification part of it. With faith rolled into all of it.
So, ending points- it is crucial to have the Holy Ghost in order to be sanctified and in order to invite the enabling power of Christ's atonement (also known as grace) to improve us. Pray, have faith, repent, then invite the Spirit as much as possible throughout days/trials/life and endure by praying for strength to change circumstances rather than just praying circumstances will change. If we do these things we will invite grace to change our natures and improve our weaknesses.
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