Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

Sarah and Hagar make an interesting pair. Sarah, so beautiful that Abraham was in continual danger of being bumped off because of her, was unable to bear children. Hagar (who was perhaps part of the compensatory gift that Abimelech offered Abraham in apology for nearly marrying his wife) was suddenly elevated from the role of servant to a second wife to her master. When she gave birth to Ishmael the very same kinds of jealousies, fears and rivalries that have split families forever caused Sarah to send her away. But God had a plan, and saved Hagar and Ishmael. He always has a back-up plan, and we are never alone, no matter how far into the wilderness we might have wandered.

Reading about Sarah and Hagar makes me wonder how many times we jump in to solve a problem without asking God what the best course might be? Years later, when Sarah overheard the angels saying that she would give birth to a child in her old age, she laughed. But once again God had a plan, and at the wonderful fulfillment of that prophecy Sarah named her darling boy Isaac, referring both to her initial laughter and her eventual rejoicing.

Seeing Our Lives Through His Eyes

When Spencer W. Kimball was called to lead the church in 1974, he was old, ill, and felt inadequate to the task. But almost immediately he began to reshape the vision of the church regarding missionary work. In his great address, "When the World Will be Converted," delivered to audiences around the globe, he told the story of Sarah, laughing at the angelic prophecy, and challenged us to open our eyes and see what God could see. Many of us were a part of that great surge in missionary effort, and had the thrill of seeing prophecy in action, as thousands of young people heard a prophet's call and came into the mission field to teach their own countrymen and women. They rose to the vision.

What if we could see what God sees about our lives? What is it that now seems just too hard to overcome, that could be conquered with His help? Perhaps it's worth asking ourselves, when we feel overwhelmed, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" and invite Him to show us what He sees that we are missing.

We'll Tell You Bible Stories Like You Never Heard Before

The Bible opens with an ambitious project, covering the history of the world from the dawn of creation to the call of Abraham in just eleven chapters of Genesis. Here are some lessons we learn along the way.

It’s not easy being green: The Garden of Eden sounds idyllic, but Adam and Eve found it difficult, and eventually chose to leave it for the “lone and dreary world.” It's interesting that while we all long for it, innocence actually becomes a negative in the long run. Experience may be painful, but it is the only way to become a spiritual adult. A nice reminder when we find ourselves longing for the good old days, before we made all those mistakes!

We are never alone: Adam and Eve left the garden, but God went with them. The Hebrew word YHWH is used in the Biblical passages that describe a God who takes walks in the garden, literally blows life into Adam, and personally shuts the door of the Ark. The Bible authors want us to feel His closeness. Enoch’s vision, recorded by Joseph Smith in the Book of Moses, describes a God who (even though He's omniscient and thus should know better) actually weeps over us. He reacts to our emotions with emotions of His own; a startling and life-altering perspective.

We can’t go back, but we can go forward. There isn’t a way back to Eden, to innocence, but there is a way forward through repentance. Even Cain (responsible for killing ¼ of the world’s population) is offered protection and a way to move on. No matter what happens ~ even in the worst storm ~ God will help us build an Ark to cover and protect ourselves and our loved ones until we land safely home.

How to Read this Book

Here are four guidelines for studying the Old Testament:

1. Understand the Context

                        History, cultural concerns, social norms

            2. Learn the Language

                        Literary styles, idioms, teaching techniques

            3. Use Modern Revelation

                        The perspective of the full gospel plan

            4. Keep the Focus on Jesus

                        See how the story leads us to Christ

The Old Testament is full of stories, and though they appeal to children, their complexity has occupied the keenest thinkers throughout history. Like every great work of literature, it demands the best of us, and as a great work of scripture, it asks us to change our minds and our behavior in response to its warnings. We’re in for a wild ride! Remember what Joseph Smith said: “He who reads it oftenest will like it best.”   

And Sometimes We Get a Little Silly….

If we are serious all the time our heads might explode, so you might enjoy some silly songs about the Old Testament with your kids. My dad taught me this one: 

Young Folks Old Folks Everybody Come, Join our Bible School We Have a lot of Fun

and here is a great old camp song about Noah: The Arky Arky Song.

Finally, we couldn't resist having Bill Cosby tell us the story of Noah!

A New Look at an Old Book

We begin our study of the Old Testament on September 9, 2014. We will meet every Tuesday in the Cardiff Chapel, so come as you are and bring a friend. (Though we call our class Sisters in Scriptures men are freely welcome to attend, as long as they behave themselves!) Bring any translation of the Bible that you like ~ our emphasis this year will be on finding Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, through prophecy, analogy, symbology, and archetypal stories that have inspired generations of readers.We'll dive right into Genesis on day one and spend several weeks there, so read the first few chapters if you can and come ready with your questions, answers and insights. I look forward to seeing you all!

We will use the Institute Old Testament manual as a guide, though it is not necessary to have it.  It is available at Deseret Book or online at this link: Old Testament Manual.

Revelation is Tough to Get!

You can take this title two ways of course. As we finish up our study of the New Testament we wade fearlessly into the most difficult book of all, Revelation, or the Apocalypse. Apocalypse means literally to uncover or to reveal, and just a little time spent in this book makes one long for some clarity! So here are a couple of guidelines to follow when reading Revelation, a book that Northrope Frye said, "Either finds a man mad or leaves him that way."

Guideline #1: Learn the lingo. Apocalyptic literature was a genre that was familiar to John's readers, but is strange to us. Imagine that you had never seen or heard of science fiction novels, and then were confronted with a book that included space aliens or humans with super powers. It would be rather disconcerting, to say the least! In the same way, we are disturbed by the extreme imagery (women with seven heads or ten arms?) and the hyperbolic language of Revelation. John's readers would have been familiar with that type of literature and knew what not to take literally.

Guideline #2: Think Oriental, not Occidental. The symbolism of Revelation is Oriental in nature. If the writer wants to communicate a being that is omniscient, that being might have ten heads. If the being is involved in many activities, that being might have many arms. Think of the Hindu or the Buddhist symbols for deities and you will get more of a feel for Oriental symbolism. One commentator wrote that Western writers use words like building blocks and Eastern writers use words as ornamentation. Try to get in an Eastern frame of mind.

Guideline #3: Know the history. Many of the symbols and events in Revelation can be traced to actual events happening in John's day. Though they may also foreshadow events in the future, we may have a harder time figuring out those connections. A famous example is the number of the beast, 666 (or 616 in some manuscripts) which has been tied to evil leaders in every generation. Caesar Nero, however, the despot that initiated the first wave of persecution of the Christians, really did have a name whose letters added up to the number 666. (Gematria, the system of attaching a number to each letter of the alphabet, meant that every name in Hebrew or Greek had a numerical equivalent.) So without trying to stretch the interpretation too far, we can find many meanings in the events surrounding the composition of the book.

Guideline #4: Use modern revelation. Joseph Smith, who famously called Revelation "one of the plainest books ever written," asked and received answers to fifteen questions about Revelation in Doctrine and Covenants Section 77.  It is a fascinating commentary and a great place to start in your study. Add the comments of modern day prophets and apostles, and there is a wealth of information on Revelation to help us.

My personal take-home from the book was this: John sees history as a great scroll with seven seals, and no one can open the seals except the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world. The seven great ages of history are opened, one by one, by Him, and John sees their meaning. For me, now in my sixth decade, there is a lesson here. No one can open the seals of our own lives except Jesus, and with Him we can go back through each decade and understand the meaning of the events that have occurred. With Him we can also go forward, decade by decade, and can find purpose in all of it.

Finally, Revelation shows us that when Christ comes in his glory and ushers in the millennium, all we have suffered, all of the unfairness and injustice of life, what Hamlet calls "the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to," will be understood and healed and dissolved in His matchless love. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev 21:4)

That is such a comforting vision of the future that we are moved say with John, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

Control vs. Influence: How Christ Loves Us

One of the most moving, and revelatory verses of scripture is found in the first epistle of John: "We love Him, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19) How does Christ love? What are the ways that He manifests love to us that are so compelling that millions and millions of people revere Him as their Lord and Savior? Can we raise our level of loving by examining and emulating His?

John has much to teach us about this. These epistles are thought to be the latest of the New Testament documents, and here John is already addressing the doctrinal drift that occurred in the years after the apostles died. The drift was away from a belief in the literal death and resurrection of Jesus, and toward a fuzzy yet dangerous idea that everything about the body was bad. Thus, the spiritual component of Christ's being must be emphasized and worshipped, and everything that testified of Him as a corporeal being, both before and after death, must be avoided. John describes the anti-Christ as anyone who denies the literal resurrection of Jesus, and reminds us that he is a living witness of that reality; he had handled and seen the resurrected Lord.

Learning to Love as Christ Loves

Given the environment in which he found himself it is interesting that John would choose to fill his few chapters, not with a doctrinal discourse about these issues, but about the love of God. "God is love," he says simply, and says it over and over. And then these insightful words: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18) What does love look like when it is mixed with fear? It may include such elements as manipulation, blame, criticism, contention, etc. When we take the element of fear out of love, when our love is given freely and without condition, these elements tend to disappear, and be replaced by mutual respect, harmony and forgiveness.

Jesus used several telling metaphors to describe the way that He loved. He described himself, for example, as a mother hen, gathering her chicks under her wings. (Hard to imagine him in the role of rooster.) He also used the image of the shepherd, one who knows each lamb by name, and whose voice they recognize and trust. Who knows your voice? Our family members and close friends might constitute our "flock." How do we interact with those closest to us? Is our love manifested more through control or influence? 

The word "control" comes from the Latin contra or against, and rotula or to roll, as in rolling something up a hill. The word "influence" comes from the Latin influentia meaning to flow into. (Fluid and fluency are related words.) At some point we realize the impossibility of controlling those around us, even in small ways. People can always tell when we have a hidden agenda! Perhaps we should concentrate instead on increasing the influence we have in others' lives. Prayer, faith, encouragement, and above all, the pure love that comes as a gift from the Savior, can do more to help and heal others than all of the solutions we might suggest. 

As my children grew to adulthood I spent a lot of time thinking about how to love them in our new roles. In other words, I began to learn the difference between control and influence. I was assigned to address a women's conference on parenting, and I distilled all of those thoughts into a paper that I offer as a Mother's Day gift to you. God is love, yet we are very human. As we learn to love without condition, we draw closer to Him, and bless the lives of those around us. So it's worth trying to take it up a notch, don't you think?

If anything in this paper is useful to you, I'll be glad, and wish you all a happy Mother's Day.

Control vs. Influence: Helping Children Come to Christ

Suffering for Christ's Sake

"Peter penned the most sublime language of any of the apostles." Thus said Joseph Smith, and a close look at these letters reveals a deep doctrinal message as well as a sophisticated rhetorical style. Peter addresses these epistles to the converts that Paul baptized in Asia Minor, who were facing a difficult situation. His main theme is the value of suffering for Christ's sake.

Early Christians quickly became objects of persecution for several reasons. Because Christians met in the evenings, called each other brother and sister, and greeted each other with a kiss, their neighbors mistrusted them and suspected them of secret conspiracies. Their refusal to honor the local deities made them easy scapegoats any time there was a natural or even man-made disaster. (Nero blamed them for the burning of Jerusalem, when in all probability he started the fire to clear space for a new palace.) Their odd beliefs, especially their representation of the sacrament as literal manifestations of the blood and body of Jesus, made them vulnerable to accusations that ranged from incest to cannibalism. In some instances, merely to acknowledge oneself as Christian meant certain death. Peter confronts this terrifying reality by recalling the suffering of Jesus in a stirring homily.

As Christians, what are we willing to suffer for righteousness' sake? The lesson here is, perhaps, to act is such a way that we do not bring persecution upon ourselves, but when the challenge comes, to be ready to respond with quiet courage. "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

Heaven is For Real

Peter refers, almost in passing, to a marvelous occurrence, the Savior's mission to the world of spirits during his three days in the tomb: "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison…" (1 Peter 3:19) Through modern revelation (especially D & C 138) we know much more about this question that is perhaps the most interesting to every person living, namely, where do we go after we die? Many experiences have been recorded of interaction between those who have died and those who are about to do so, or "near-death" experiences. One that is quite moving was recorded by Wilford Woodruff. After his young wife Phoebe passed away, he was inspired to administer to her and rebuke the power of death. He wrote of the incident:

“Her spirit returned to her body, and from that hour she was made whole; and we all felt to praise the name of God, and to trust in Him and to keep His commandments.

“While this operation was going on with me (as my wife related afterwards) her spirit left her body, and she saw it lying upon the bed, and the sisters weeping. She looked at them and at me, and upon her babe, and, while gazing upon this scene, two personages came into the room … One of these messengers informed her that she could have her choice: she might go to rest in the spirit world, or, on one condition she could have the privilege of returning to her tabernacle and continuing her labors upon the earth. The condition was, if she felt that she could stand by her husband, and with him pass through all the cares, trials, tribulations and afflictions of life which he would be called to pass through for the gospel’s sake unto the end. When she looked at the situation of her husband and child she said: ‘Yes, I will do it!’

“At the moment that decision was made the power of faith rested upon me, and when I administered unto her, her spirit entered her tabernacle …” (Leaves From My Journal, 4th ed., The Deseret News, 1909, pp. 59–60.)

We chose to be here, we each have a mission to fulfill, and we are not alone in this world. We are surrounded by helpers who know us and love us, and assist the Savior in leading us home. Peter takes this as his premise, and he encourages us to face our trials with courage and grace. "Happy are ye," he says, "if ye suffer for righteousness' sake." 

What Do Our Works Show?

          Martin Luther famously described the Book of James as a "an epistle full of straw, because it contains nothing of the gospel." OK, tell us what you really think! This, of course, made me curious about Martin Luther and why he felt so grumpy about a perfectly wonderful book of scripture, and I was interested to read about his background as an over-zealous monk. Determined to be the most obedient monk on the planet, he nearly killed himself with fastings, vigils, and self-denial. His epiphany about grace while reading Paul's letters to the Romans and to the Galatians caused him to swing the pendulum the other direction, and to get positively rabid about anything that sounded like it overlooked Christ's saving power in favor of, well, fastings, vigils and self-denial. So James, with his practical suggestions on how to live a Christian life, sounds all wrong to him because he doesn't say much about that grace that had become the life line for Martin Luther. But it's all in there. James simply pre-supposes that we have "felt to sing the song of redeeming love," and now need a little instruction on how to retain that remission of our sins. Really, Martin should cheer up and cut him some slack.

          The whole discussion about grace and works can become counter-productive. C.S. Lewis resolves the whole issue in one sentence: "Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good actions, or Faith in Christ. I have no right really to speak on such a difficult question, but it does seem to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary.”

So rather than beat that same old drum, we focused instead on what our works show. James says, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faithwithout your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:14-15 NKJV) Obviously we are all busy doing something every day, and the things we do show where our faith is centered. Faith in Christ leads to certain actions, and faith in money leads to others, and faith in social progression or ambition leads to others, etc. Each day brings a series of decisions with it. Where will we spend our precious time? How will we use our allotment of energy and money and influence? What we choose to do each day shows where our faith lies.

          Making these choices can be perplexing, and we had a good discussion about how we learn to balance all of the competing demands on us. One sister shared how, in a time of illness, she prayed every day to know the most important thing she could get done with the very limited energy she had. Invariably the answer was to gather her children around her for scripture study and prayer. Another shared the idea that taking time for personal study (such as our class) was good, only if she then shared what she gained with her family. Taking time for ourselves is important, but the point is to have something to share at the end of that fulfilling time.

          James offers us some of the great scriptural gems, including the verse that sent young Joseph Smith out into the grove: "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." (James 1:5) As I read this familiar verse I was struck by the fact that it is usually what we lack that sends us to our knees in prayer. God does not reproach us for that though; he stands ready to give us whatever we are able to receive. Though Martin Luther nearly killed himself with diligence, he felt empty and unhappy, and that put him in a place to receive God's guidance. His reformation was a great step forward for faithful Christians. Joseph Smith felt uneasy about the religious options available to him. He lacked wisdom, and his simple question to God, "Which church should I join?" opened the heavens. 

          So maybe we shouldn't be so angry with ourselves about what we lack, whether it is talent, or perspective, or even a sunny disposition. God uses us just the way we are, and hopes that we will recognize what we lack and go to Him for help. Looking at what happened to Martin and Joseph, it makes you wonder what wonderful things might be in store if we have the courage to do so.