The Priesthood and the Church

“Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man, and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life."

- President Ezra Taft Benson, Thirteenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

This last October, Elder L. Tom Perry of the 12 Apostles addressed the men in the Church about the responsibility of being a worthy priesthood holder. He first recognized how the world is becoming more and more tolerant of wickedness and that we as members of the Church can not be a part of the trend. I really liked what Elder Perry taught about Daniel in the old testament. He said the things that kept him faithful when he was faithful was as follows: (1) keeping his body healthy and clean, (2) developing his mind and becoming wise, (3) being strong and resistant to temptation in a world that is filled with it, and (4) trusting the Lord, especially when he needs His protection. All of these qualities require that a person actively choose to do what is best with himself. Elder Perry acknowledged that not only will doing these things help a young man when he is a deacon and a missionary, but it will also help him stay close to the Lord in whatever the Lord asks him to do throughout his life.

Elder Perry also promised the young priesthood holders that "the Lord is bound by solemn covenant to bless your lives according to your faithfulness." All that is required of them is to listen to the promptings of the Spirit and to follow his direction. Elder Perry also says that in doing so they will be blessed with added "wisdom, knowledge, power and glory."

I know what Elder Perry said is true. I believe that as men act with faith in living the Gospel and act with the power and authority that was given to them when they received the priesthood, that they will be blessed and will bless others throughout their lives. I have seen the result of both young and old men following what Elder Perry has said and I know that they are blessed for it.

I've Got a Liahona and So Can You

One of my favorite symbols from the Book of Mormon is the liahona and its relationship with those who seek its guidance. I do not know if this actual navigation device is supposed to be used as a symbol, but I find that as I study it I gain more out of what I read and have a stronger desire to live my life as if I had a liahona, because in some ways we all have it.

Alma teaches his son Helaman about this sacred guide. In Alma 37 verse 38, he first calls it “a ball, or director.” This may not seem to be any surprise as there are many man-made devices that direct where people should go. However, as we read in verse 39, “there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship…it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.” The second part of this phrase should not seem particularly new, but the first part where we learn that it was not man-made allows us to first see that perhaps there is something special and divine about the liahona.

And there is something incredibly divine about it. Verse 40 contains the word ‘God’ three different times: it worked according to their faith in God, God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, and that besides that miracle other miracles happened because of the power of God. Truly the liahona had nothing to do with man’s skill, but to man’s desire to follow God and God’s love he has for His children.

I think of God’s children today and myself, as I am a child of God. He knows that there are thousands of things that we could choose for our lives, and that ultimately, like Nephi and his family did, it is up to us to continue to walk and make the choices. Yet sometimes it is difficult to see what the right thing to do is. That is when we turn to God and pay attention to the promptings that the Holy Ghost gives to us. The Holy Ghost is a separate being from God, but he is real and powerful and provides guidance when we express faith in the Lord. We are not punished for not knowing what to do. Rather with love from our Father, we can choose because He provides His miracle of divine direction to His children today.

Humility in a King

Some of the my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon have to do with those people who are converted to the gospel after being in darkness or simply denying the gospel. I feel like these are people that I can better connect with as I become more and more aware of my own struggles. They are dynamic people who I imagine think and act similarly to myself. One such person is King Lamoni.

One of the first characteristics that stick out to me is that the king values fairness. He says in chapter 7 of Mosiah, verse 9 that he was elected king by voice of the people; he values the people he reigns over. The reason he binds Ammon and his bretheren in the first place is because they are foreign strangers and could be a threat to his people. However, instead of delighting in bloodshed, he allows their lives to be preserved so that they are permitted to speak. Limhi knows that he potentially could be mistaken and has enough confidence that he will learn from whence these men came.

One thing that sticks out to me is how not only he was willing to listen, but that he really believed Ammon after only listening for a few minutes. Limhi is so excited that he is willing to escape the bondage of the Lamanites to be slaves for the Nephites. This should give some understanding as to how terrible their conditions were and how Limhi was preserved to lead his people. He recognizes the righteousness of the Nephites and craves that more than slaving away for the wicked Lamanites.

Finally on that same day, Limhi invites and Ammon and his bretheren to rest and to eat. He is grateful for them, recognizes their power and rejoices. His attitude towards these men are similar to the attitude that we should have for God and His children. We should recognize how others may be in pain and use our abilities , like Limhi used his riches and his kindness to allow the missionaries to feast, to serve those the Lord loves.

God Answers Questions

I want to focus my next few entries on one of the most important events in history: the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For today, I want to discuss the situations and mentalities of key people who allowed this restoration to be brought to pass.

As I was studying I noticed a few key words that Joseph Smith used to describe his experiences leading up to his seeing Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Disillusioned by the “strife of words and a contest of opinions” and “the confusion and strife among the different denominations,” Joseph Smith turned to the only source where things were written plainly and straight forwardly: the New Testament. He read 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.” God can teach us whatever we need to learn when we ask him; he does not want to hide truths from us. Rather, he wants us to know that we can learn truths and we should aspire to learn.

Of course we cannot expect to just ask God things without us doing what is required of us. If Joseph Smith had been sinning a ton and did not care to learn from God, he would not receive the revelation necessary to start the restoration. However, as we continue to read in his history, he uses a few key words and phrases that reflect what we should do when approaching God with a question.

1. “It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart.”- reading it is what made him internalize it entirely. It is like when you discover something new- a hobby, a book, a TV show- and you cannot turn away from it.

2. “I reflected on it again and again”- Once it was in his heart, he found himself thinking about it. I imagine he thought of all the possible things he could ask God, and if God would really answer his prayers

3. “knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did”- Just the fact that Joseph Smith felt the need to ask God shows that he has a strong sense of wisdom. Yet he recognizes that he is missing so much. He shows amazing amounts of humility.

4. “At length I came to the conclusion”- Through the preceding steps he realized that he must ultimately choose to just ask. We see that he had the choice to dwell and think about it, and through that realized that he was having a stupor of thought and that he could not figure it out on his own.

5. “Ask of God” – Finally the last step is to ask God once he was entirely prepared.

These five steps came as a result of his desire to learn the truth and his learning scripture. I believe that God will answer our questions when we, through dedication and study, show God that we will listen.

True Christianity

We are taught that humility is one of the most key ways in which we can become more Christ-like. In King Benjamin’s address, he talks about all the ways in which we can become more humility. What I found to be common throughout all that he spoke of was our need to have a Christ-like attitude.

He first addresses that parents are responsible for the welfare of their children. They are to first and foremost provide for the physical well-being of their children. Then they are to take care of their children’s spiritual needs and encourage their children to live the gospel and practice charity within the families. Verse 16 of Mosiah 4, indicates that parents are to teach their kids attitudes. A parent can make a child do whatever they want, by means of punishment or reward, but they are to “teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness”; they are also to love and serve one another. The word walk indicates that it is not just an action, but is a daily activity, just as walking is a daily activity; no one has to encourage it, it just becomes part of their character.

I really enjoy the next few verses, verses 16-19. Basically it says that we have no right to deny basic things to those who ask of us, especially when we have things to give. Oftentimes, we meet a homeless person and say that they brought it on themselves. This is not so; verse 19 reminds that we all rely on God and that we are all beggars in some way or another; just the fact that we are inferior to God makes us beggars.

Again, we are reminded that it is the attitude of giving that makes us become Christ-like. Even as I think this, my first instinct is to say that that is a cop-out and that what we do is most important. But as we learn in verse 24, those who deny the beggar because they have not, but truly would give to the beggar, God will know their hearts and base his judgments on that. This is a good reminder to those who have and give, but do it with a feeling of annoyance that we are to be humble enough to really want to serve, and not just go through the motions.

The Role of Commandments

As I continue to study the words of King Benjamin in chapter two of Mosiah, I notice there is a pattern discussing following commandments. He teaches why we should follow them and how it will affect us if we do or do not follow the commandments. The first thing that I notice is that if we follow commandments we will prosper in the land “and that he never doth vary from that which he hath said.” Sure, there are many people who prosper in the land, but they are not following God’s commandments. How these people differ from those who do is that God doesn’t vary from the promises he gives; man does. When we rely on man for our prosperity, there is no guarantee. God may not give us prosperity the way we initially like or expect, but as we continue to follow Him he will bless.

King Benjamin gives the first reason that we should obey commandments: we are indebted to him because of our lives. Sometimes we would like to believe that because we can choose, we are all powerful. But the only reason we can choose is because we were granted that gift and God asks us to remember that and to follow Him. The second reason is that God will bless us. He says in verse 31, “ye shall prosper in the land, and your enemies shall have no power over you.” I wonder why it is that enemies won’t have power. Enemies will attack every aspect of your life: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. But we are guaranteed here that as long as we are following the commandments, we will not be left alone. For some, physical and mental struggles will always be a challenge, but as we do our part to overcome and live worthily, God will guide us.