34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
we are all 'called' in some capacity or another. we are called to be leaders or examples or other areas of service. what does 'chosen' mean in this context? to me, it is synonymous with "effective" or "ideal" or "good" or "proper". therefore, to rephrase it, we all have work to do, but few are really good or effective at accomplishing the task at hand.
from here, we dig into why some people are good and effective at callings or leadership while others are not.
35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—
reason number one why some people aren't so effective: their hearts are not in the right place; their intentions are not good. they want to lead in order to be popular or prestigious or to perhaps become wealthy from the position.
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
in a priesthood leadership context, some people want to be priesthood leaders to be popular; but they fail to understand that they must always be righteous and wise and just in order to be an effective and good leader.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
leadership keys and priesthood authority may be granted us, but we lose that authority when we are prideful, vain or when we exercise control over people because of our position of authority. many are aware of the catholic church priest scandals; but even the LDS church has its own issues and history. as recent as this year, the news was filled with reports about a man named Joseph Bishop, who assaulted a sister missionary in the MTC of all places. there are many other cases of heinous behavior of leaders abusing their position of authority (see wikipedia entry on mormon abuse case).
there are two key lessons here:
1. don't assume a bishop or stake president or mission president or general authority are good people. reserve judgement and be mindful of never letting down your guard. speak up for yourself; tell a trusted adult if you've been the victim of such heinous behavior. DO NOT be silent about such matters; whether you've been the victim or if a friend or someone you know has suffered abuse.
2. if you are in a leadership position, you must set a higher standard for yourself. don't ever let your actions betray the trust of others.
as youth, you should be aware of on-going efforts by a bishop who lives in houston, who has made it his mission to make bishop interviews less sexually explicit. also, some people think it is a great idea to ensure there is more than one adult in the room when a leader interviews a child or young adult. for more information about this effort, see: http://protectldschildren.org/
38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
do you know what the term "kick against the pricks" means?
a prick or an ox goad was a stick with a pointed piece of iron on its tip used to prod the oxen when plowing. The farmer would prick the animal to steer it in the right direction. Sometimes the animal would rebel by kicking out at the prick, and this would result in the prick being driven even further into its flesh. In essence, the more an ox rebelled, the more it suffered.
maybe a more modern-day application would be "tire spikes." maybe you've seen these in a parking lot, where you pay where you enter, but where you exit the parking lot, to prevent non-payers from entering, the lot has theses tire spikes. if you roll over the spikes while exiting the lot, the spikes fold down. but if you back up or go the wrong way over the spikes, it will pop your tires - a very costly mistake.
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
according to D&C 121, most people are power hungry - in that when they get power and authority, the begin to abuse it. this is a very stern warning for all of us - that we should be aware of our bias toward power.
40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
power hunger is the reason why so few are effective.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
no one can or should tell you what to do for the reason of: "because i said so; or i command you to ..." this really only works in the military. in normal day-to-day interactions, for anyone to be an effective leader, they must actually be good people.
up to this point in D&C 121, we've been talking about the traps of leadership. now it gets into how to actually be a good and effective leader.
you can't just boss people around.
use persuasion, reason, logic.
long-suffering simply means being patient with people.
anger never really works; the other end of the spectrum from anger is gentleness. how effective have your parents or leaders been when they get angry or upset? are you more willing to do what someone tells you when they are freaking out or when they are gentle?
love unfeigned - what does 'feign' mean? it means 'fake or false or to pretend'. do you like it when people pretend to love you or when they actually love you? it's an obvious answer. so the lesson here is: don't be fake. be genuine.
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
similar to gentleness is kindness. again, think of when leaders have been kind to you. are they more effective or less effective?
pure knowledge - is it better when a leader gives you good reasons for doing something? or is it better when they just give opinions? we are all biased in some way or another. we assume we know, when in reality, we really don't know. many of us don't admit we don't know. it is always better to let data and sound knowledge guide us. this is what pure knowledge is.
being lead by good information and knowledge will prevent leaders from being hypocrites and it will give them confidence in their decisions (confidence = enlarging the soul).
guile is simply deception.
43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
followers will sometimes disobey a leader. in those cases, the leader needs to provide feedback. the old-school style would typically involve yelling and foaming at the mouth - which is, less effective.
a better way to provide feedback (which really is the essence of "reproving someone") is to ensure the feedback is given in a timely manner. this is why your teachers assign homework and give quizzes in between tests. if a lesson has been given, but the teacher doesn't know you've learned the lesson until the final exam, that is not very timely feedback. even at work, all the employees are ranked once a year; but once a year feedback is not enough, therefore, we are coached frequently. failure is bound to happen, but we lose opportunities to teach and learn if we don't actually think about and learn from our failures.
after you provide feedback, be sure to give encouragement and try to make the feedback experience positive.
this whole concept is easily apparent in dog-training. you train your dog with positive reinforcement; not negative.
44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
better to enjoy the kindness and confidence of a leader than the fear of hellfire damnation!
45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
charity is the greatest of all. see Moroni 7:45-48.
virtue (self-discipline, courage, justice, wisdom and the related virtues) should guide you in all your do as a person and as a leader. at one point in time "garnish" actually meant , in part, "to warn or defend" (link). If we apply this meaning in this context, we should let virtue guard our thoughts unceasingly or all the time - we should never let our guard down. in today's terms, i often hear that we need to "be mindful."
if we can guard our thoughts with virtue all the time, then we will be confident relative to our position with God and with others. we won't have anything to hide or feel guilt for.
pure doctrine - sound reason - real knowledge will seep (distil) into our minds like dew on grass. have you ever notice your grass or a field at night - does it have dew on it? no. but in the morning, it does. it's almost magic. that process of distillation happens over hours. if we practice virtue and learn right doctrine, then that knowledge will seep into our souls and minds.
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
wisdom will be our constant companion. what else is the holy ghost but a means for teaching us what is right and wise and just? we want to have those virtues to be with us all the time.
a scepter is a symbol of true power and authority. kings and queens have scepters. when you are an effective leader, your symbolic scepter will be righteousness and truth.
your domain or sphere of influence, will grow. people will begin to seek you out; looking for your wisdom - all because you have take the time and effort to learn how to be an effective leader.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Sunday, May 27, 2018
May Week 4: Memorial Day
What is Memorial Day?
Why do we celebrate it?
Some of my favorite stories to remind us why we should pause and think on Memorial Day.
Apology to the Dead
Memorial Day 1945 was a somber time for most Americans, and 70 years later it still carries with it a special poignancy. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been dead just over a month, and while the war in Europe had concluded, it was too early to begin celebrating victory over the Axis powers. The fighting in the Pacific, where the battle for Okinawa had begun in April and would last through most of June, was still taking a heavy toll.
President Harry Truman, who was working on a speech for the final session of the United Nations conference in San Francisco, marked the day by sending a wreath to Hyde Park for the grave of President Roosevelt and another to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
At Normandy, following a brief military ceremony, work continued on the cemetery above the beaches where Allied troops had landed on D-Day. The paths between the blocks of graves were still uncompleted, and much of the labor on the new cemetery was now being done by German prisoners of war.
At the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Nettuno, Italy, Memorial Day was also an elegiac occasion. Lt. Gen. Lucian Truscott Jr., who had led the U. S. Sixth Corps through some of the heaviest fighting in Italy and now commanded the Fifth Army, gave a speech that is particularly relevant for today when the trauma of our long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continues to haunt so many vets.
No recording or transcript of Truscott's Memorial Day speech exists, even among his papers at the George C. Marshall Research Library in Virginia.
In Stars and Stripes, the military's newspaper, we have only excerpts of Truscott's remarks. "All over the world our soldiers sleep beneath the crosses," Stars and Stripes reported Truscott observing. "It is a challenge to us -- all allied nations-- to ensure that they do not and have not died in vain."
Missing from the Stars and Stripes story is what Truscott did in delivering his speech. For that account we are indebted to Bill Mauldin, best known for his World War II cartoons featuring the unshaven infantrymen, Willie and Joe. Mauldin was in the audience when Truscott spoke at Nettuno, and he never forgot the day.
"There were about twenty thousand American graves. Families hadn't started digging up the bodies and bringing them home," Mauldin recalled years later in his 1971 memoir, "The Brass Ring."
"Before the stand were spectator benches, with a number of camp chairs down front for VIPs, including several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"When Truscott spoke he turned away from the visitors and addressed himself to the corpses he had commanded here. It was the most moving gesture I ever saw. It came from a hard-boiled old man who was incapable of planned dramatics," Mauldin wrote.
"The general's remarks were brief and extemporaneous. He apologized to the dead men for their presence here. He said everybody tells leaders it is not their fault that men get killed in war, but that every leader knows in his heart this is not altogether true.
"He said he hoped anybody here through any mistake of his would forgive him, but he realized that was asking a hell of a lot under the circumstances. . . . he would not speak about the glorious dead because he didn't see much glory in getting killed if you were in your late teens or early twenties. He promised that if in the future he ran into anybody, especially old men, who thought death in battle was glorious, he would straighten them out. He said he thought that was the least he could do."
Truscott's words echoed the reaction to the bitter fighting in Italy of others who had experienced it close up. "I had been feeling pretty much like a clay pigeon in a shooting gallery," Ernie Pyle, America's most widely read World War II correspondent, wrote after landing with American troops at Anzio.
But making Truscott different from Pyle and Mauldin, as well as everyone in attendance at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, was his belief that as a commander he bore a special responsibility for the dead lying before him in their fresh graves. He was unsure if apologizing to them was enough, but he could, he knew, guarantee that he would not romanticize their passing.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/23/opinions/mills-memorial-day-apology-to-the-dead
Memorial Day: A Time for Heroes
I leaned against an oak at the side of the road, wishing I were invisible, keeping my distance from my parents on their lawn chairs and my younger siblings scampering about.
I hoped none of my friends saw me there. God forbid they caught me waving one of the small American flags Mom bought at Ben Franklin for a dime. At 16, I was too old and definitely too cool for our small town's Memorial Day parade.
I ought to be at the lake, I brooded. But, no, the all-day festivities were mandatory in my family.
A high school band marched by, the girl in sequins missing her baton as it tumbled from the sky. Firemen blasted sirens in their polished red trucks. The uniforms on the troop of World War II veterans looked too snug on more than one member.
"Here comes Mema," my father shouted.
Five black convertibles lumbered down the boulevard. The mayor was in the first, handing out programs. I didn't need to look at one. I knew my uncle Bud's name was printed on it, as it had been every year since he was killed in Italy. Our family's war hero.
And I knew that perched on the backseat of one of the cars, waving and smiling, was Mema, my grandmother. She had a corsage on her lapel and a sign in gold embossed letters on the car door: "Gold Star Mother."
I hid behind the tree so I wouldn't have to meet her gaze. It wasn't because I didn't love her or appreciate her. She'd taught me how to sew, to call a strike in baseball. She made great cinnamon rolls, which we always ate after the parade.
What embarrassed me was all the attention she got for a son who had died 20 years earlier. With four other children and a dozen grandchildren, why linger over this one long-ago loss?
I peeked out from behind the oak just in time to see Mema wave and blow my family a kiss as the motorcade moved on. The purple ribbon on her hat fluttered in the breeze.
The rest of our Memorial Day ritual was equally scripted. No use trying to get out of it. I followed my family back to Mema's house, where there was the usual baseball game in the backyard and the same old reminiscing about Uncle Bud in the kitchen.
Helping myself to a cinnamon roll, I retreated to the living room and plopped down on an armchair.
There I found myself staring at the Army photo of Bud on the bookcase. The uncle I'd never known. I must have looked at him a thousand times—so proud in his crested cap and knotted tie. His uniform was decorated with military emblems that I could never decode.
Funny, he was starting to look younger to me as I got older. Who were you, Uncle Bud? I nearly asked aloud.
I picked up the photo and turned it over. Yellowing tape held a prayer card that read: "Lloyd 'Bud' Heitzman, 1925-1944. A Great Hero." Nineteen years old when he died, not much older than I was. But a great hero? How could you be a hero at 19?
The floorboards creaked behind me. I turned to see Mema coming in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
I almost hid the photo because I didn't want to listen to the same stories I'd heard year after year: "Your uncle Bud had this little rat-terrier named Jiggs. Good old Jiggs. How he loved that mutt! He wouldn't go anywhere without Jiggs. He used to put him in the rumble seat of his Chevy coupe and drive all over town.
"Remember how hard Bud worked after we lost the farm? At haying season he worked all day, sunrise to sunset, baling for other farmers. Then he brought me all his wages. He'd say, 'Mama, someday I'm going to buy you a brand-new farm. I promise.' There wasn't a better boy in the world!"
Sometimes I wondered about that boy dying alone in a muddy ditch in a foreign country he'd only read about. I thought of the scared kid who jumped out of a foxhole in front of an advancing enemy, only to be downed by a sniper. I couldn't reconcile the image of the boy and his dog with that of the stalwart soldier.
Mema stood beside me for a while, looking at the photo. From outside came the sharp snap of an American flag flapping in the breeze and the voices of my cousins cheering my brother at bat.
"Mema," I asked, "what's a hero?" Without a word she turned and walked down the hall to the back bedroom. I followed.
She opened a bureau drawer and took out a small metal box, then sank down onto the bed.
"These are Bud's things," she said. "They sent them to us after he died." She opened the lid and handed me a telegram dated October 13, 1944. "The Secretary of State regrets to inform you that your son, Lloyd Heitzman, was killed in Italy."
Your son! I imagined Mema reading that sentence for the first time. I didn't know what I would have done if I'd gotten a telegram like that.
"Here's Bud's wallet," she continued. Even after all those years, it was caked with dried mud. Inside was Bud's driver's license with the date of his sixteenth birthday. I compared it with the driver's license I had just received.
A photo of Bud holding a little spotted dog fell out of the wallet. Jiggs. Bud looked so pleased with his mutt.
There were other photos in the wallet: a laughing Bud standing arm in arm with two buddies, photos of my mom and aunt and uncle, another of Mema waving. This was the home Uncle Bud took with him, I thought.
I could see him in a foxhole, taking out these snapshots to remind himself of how much he was loved and missed.
"Who's this?" I asked, pointing to a shot of a pretty dark-haired girl.
"Marie. Bud dated her in high school. He wanted to marry her when he came home." A girlfriend? Marriage? How heartbreaking to have a life, plans and hopes for the future, so brutally snuffed out.
Sitting on the bed, Mema and I sifted through the treasures in the box: a gold watch that had never been wound again. A sympathy letter from President Roosevelt, and one from Bud's commander. A medal shaped like a heart, trimmed with a purple ribbon. And at the very bottom, the deed to Mema's house.
"Why's this here?" I asked.
"Because Bud bought this house for me." She explained how after his death, the U.S. government gave her 10 thousand dollars, and with it she built the house she was still living in.
"He kept his promise all right," Mema said in a quiet voice I'd never heard before.
For a long while the two of us sat there on the bed. Then we put the wallet, the medal, the letters, the watch, the photos and the deed back into the metal box. I finally understood why it was so important for Mema—and me—to remember Uncle Bud on this day.
If he'd lived longer he might have built that house for Mema or married his high-school girlfriend. There might have been children and grandchildren to remember him by.
As it was, there was only that box, the name in the program and the reminiscing around the kitchen table.
"I guess he was a hero because he gave everything for what he believed," I said carefully.
"Yes, child," Mema replied, wiping a tear with the back of her hand. "Don't ever forget that."
I haven't. Even today with Mema gone, my husband and I take our lawn chairs to the tree-shaded boulevard on Memorial Day and give our three daughters small American flags that I buy for a quarter at Ben Franklin.
I want them to remember that life isn't just about getting what you want. Sometimes it involves giving up the things you love for what you love even more. That many men and women did the same for their country—that's what I think when I see the parade pass by now.
And if I close my eyes and imagine, I can still see Mema in her regal purple hat, honoring her son, a true American hero.
https://www.guideposts.org/inspirational-stories/memorial-day-a-time-for-heroes
The Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863)
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address
Six videos to watch Memorial Day weekend (30 minute run-time)
Why do we celebrate it?
Some of my favorite stories to remind us why we should pause and think on Memorial Day.
Apology to the Dead
Memorial Day 1945 was a somber time for most Americans, and 70 years later it still carries with it a special poignancy. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been dead just over a month, and while the war in Europe had concluded, it was too early to begin celebrating victory over the Axis powers. The fighting in the Pacific, where the battle for Okinawa had begun in April and would last through most of June, was still taking a heavy toll.
President Harry Truman, who was working on a speech for the final session of the United Nations conference in San Francisco, marked the day by sending a wreath to Hyde Park for the grave of President Roosevelt and another to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
At Normandy, following a brief military ceremony, work continued on the cemetery above the beaches where Allied troops had landed on D-Day. The paths between the blocks of graves were still uncompleted, and much of the labor on the new cemetery was now being done by German prisoners of war.
 |
| Lucian Truscott Jr. |
No recording or transcript of Truscott's Memorial Day speech exists, even among his papers at the George C. Marshall Research Library in Virginia.
In Stars and Stripes, the military's newspaper, we have only excerpts of Truscott's remarks. "All over the world our soldiers sleep beneath the crosses," Stars and Stripes reported Truscott observing. "It is a challenge to us -- all allied nations-- to ensure that they do not and have not died in vain."
Missing from the Stars and Stripes story is what Truscott did in delivering his speech. For that account we are indebted to Bill Mauldin, best known for his World War II cartoons featuring the unshaven infantrymen, Willie and Joe. Mauldin was in the audience when Truscott spoke at Nettuno, and he never forgot the day.
"There were about twenty thousand American graves. Families hadn't started digging up the bodies and bringing them home," Mauldin recalled years later in his 1971 memoir, "The Brass Ring."
"Before the stand were spectator benches, with a number of camp chairs down front for VIPs, including several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"When Truscott spoke he turned away from the visitors and addressed himself to the corpses he had commanded here. It was the most moving gesture I ever saw. It came from a hard-boiled old man who was incapable of planned dramatics," Mauldin wrote.
"The general's remarks were brief and extemporaneous. He apologized to the dead men for their presence here. He said everybody tells leaders it is not their fault that men get killed in war, but that every leader knows in his heart this is not altogether true.
"He said he hoped anybody here through any mistake of his would forgive him, but he realized that was asking a hell of a lot under the circumstances. . . . he would not speak about the glorious dead because he didn't see much glory in getting killed if you were in your late teens or early twenties. He promised that if in the future he ran into anybody, especially old men, who thought death in battle was glorious, he would straighten them out. He said he thought that was the least he could do."
Truscott's words echoed the reaction to the bitter fighting in Italy of others who had experienced it close up. "I had been feeling pretty much like a clay pigeon in a shooting gallery," Ernie Pyle, America's most widely read World War II correspondent, wrote after landing with American troops at Anzio.
But making Truscott different from Pyle and Mauldin, as well as everyone in attendance at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, was his belief that as a commander he bore a special responsibility for the dead lying before him in their fresh graves. He was unsure if apologizing to them was enough, but he could, he knew, guarantee that he would not romanticize their passing.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/23/opinions/mills-memorial-day-apology-to-the-dead
Memorial Day: A Time for Heroes
I leaned against an oak at the side of the road, wishing I were invisible, keeping my distance from my parents on their lawn chairs and my younger siblings scampering about.
I hoped none of my friends saw me there. God forbid they caught me waving one of the small American flags Mom bought at Ben Franklin for a dime. At 16, I was too old and definitely too cool for our small town's Memorial Day parade.
I ought to be at the lake, I brooded. But, no, the all-day festivities were mandatory in my family.
A high school band marched by, the girl in sequins missing her baton as it tumbled from the sky. Firemen blasted sirens in their polished red trucks. The uniforms on the troop of World War II veterans looked too snug on more than one member.
"Here comes Mema," my father shouted.
Five black convertibles lumbered down the boulevard. The mayor was in the first, handing out programs. I didn't need to look at one. I knew my uncle Bud's name was printed on it, as it had been every year since he was killed in Italy. Our family's war hero.
I hid behind the tree so I wouldn't have to meet her gaze. It wasn't because I didn't love her or appreciate her. She'd taught me how to sew, to call a strike in baseball. She made great cinnamon rolls, which we always ate after the parade.
What embarrassed me was all the attention she got for a son who had died 20 years earlier. With four other children and a dozen grandchildren, why linger over this one long-ago loss?
I peeked out from behind the oak just in time to see Mema wave and blow my family a kiss as the motorcade moved on. The purple ribbon on her hat fluttered in the breeze.
The rest of our Memorial Day ritual was equally scripted. No use trying to get out of it. I followed my family back to Mema's house, where there was the usual baseball game in the backyard and the same old reminiscing about Uncle Bud in the kitchen.
Helping myself to a cinnamon roll, I retreated to the living room and plopped down on an armchair.
There I found myself staring at the Army photo of Bud on the bookcase. The uncle I'd never known. I must have looked at him a thousand times—so proud in his crested cap and knotted tie. His uniform was decorated with military emblems that I could never decode.
Funny, he was starting to look younger to me as I got older. Who were you, Uncle Bud? I nearly asked aloud.
I picked up the photo and turned it over. Yellowing tape held a prayer card that read: "Lloyd 'Bud' Heitzman, 1925-1944. A Great Hero." Nineteen years old when he died, not much older than I was. But a great hero? How could you be a hero at 19?
The floorboards creaked behind me. I turned to see Mema coming in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
I almost hid the photo because I didn't want to listen to the same stories I'd heard year after year: "Your uncle Bud had this little rat-terrier named Jiggs. Good old Jiggs. How he loved that mutt! He wouldn't go anywhere without Jiggs. He used to put him in the rumble seat of his Chevy coupe and drive all over town.
"Remember how hard Bud worked after we lost the farm? At haying season he worked all day, sunrise to sunset, baling for other farmers. Then he brought me all his wages. He'd say, 'Mama, someday I'm going to buy you a brand-new farm. I promise.' There wasn't a better boy in the world!"
Sometimes I wondered about that boy dying alone in a muddy ditch in a foreign country he'd only read about. I thought of the scared kid who jumped out of a foxhole in front of an advancing enemy, only to be downed by a sniper. I couldn't reconcile the image of the boy and his dog with that of the stalwart soldier.
Mema stood beside me for a while, looking at the photo. From outside came the sharp snap of an American flag flapping in the breeze and the voices of my cousins cheering my brother at bat.
"Mema," I asked, "what's a hero?" Without a word she turned and walked down the hall to the back bedroom. I followed.
"These are Bud's things," she said. "They sent them to us after he died." She opened the lid and handed me a telegram dated October 13, 1944. "The Secretary of State regrets to inform you that your son, Lloyd Heitzman, was killed in Italy."
Your son! I imagined Mema reading that sentence for the first time. I didn't know what I would have done if I'd gotten a telegram like that.
"Here's Bud's wallet," she continued. Even after all those years, it was caked with dried mud. Inside was Bud's driver's license with the date of his sixteenth birthday. I compared it with the driver's license I had just received.
A photo of Bud holding a little spotted dog fell out of the wallet. Jiggs. Bud looked so pleased with his mutt.
There were other photos in the wallet: a laughing Bud standing arm in arm with two buddies, photos of my mom and aunt and uncle, another of Mema waving. This was the home Uncle Bud took with him, I thought.
I could see him in a foxhole, taking out these snapshots to remind himself of how much he was loved and missed.
"Who's this?" I asked, pointing to a shot of a pretty dark-haired girl.
"Marie. Bud dated her in high school. He wanted to marry her when he came home." A girlfriend? Marriage? How heartbreaking to have a life, plans and hopes for the future, so brutally snuffed out.
Sitting on the bed, Mema and I sifted through the treasures in the box: a gold watch that had never been wound again. A sympathy letter from President Roosevelt, and one from Bud's commander. A medal shaped like a heart, trimmed with a purple ribbon. And at the very bottom, the deed to Mema's house.
"Why's this here?" I asked.
"Because Bud bought this house for me." She explained how after his death, the U.S. government gave her 10 thousand dollars, and with it she built the house she was still living in.
"He kept his promise all right," Mema said in a quiet voice I'd never heard before.
For a long while the two of us sat there on the bed. Then we put the wallet, the medal, the letters, the watch, the photos and the deed back into the metal box. I finally understood why it was so important for Mema—and me—to remember Uncle Bud on this day.
If he'd lived longer he might have built that house for Mema or married his high-school girlfriend. There might have been children and grandchildren to remember him by.
As it was, there was only that box, the name in the program and the reminiscing around the kitchen table.
"I guess he was a hero because he gave everything for what he believed," I said carefully.
"Yes, child," Mema replied, wiping a tear with the back of her hand. "Don't ever forget that."
I haven't. Even today with Mema gone, my husband and I take our lawn chairs to the tree-shaded boulevard on Memorial Day and give our three daughters small American flags that I buy for a quarter at Ben Franklin.
I want them to remember that life isn't just about getting what you want. Sometimes it involves giving up the things you love for what you love even more. That many men and women did the same for their country—that's what I think when I see the parade pass by now.
And if I close my eyes and imagine, I can still see Mema in her regal purple hat, honoring her son, a true American hero.
https://www.guideposts.org/inspirational-stories/memorial-day-a-time-for-heroes
The Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863)
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| Lincoln at Gettysburg the day he gave the speech |
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address
Six videos to watch Memorial Day weekend (30 minute run-time)
Saturday, May 05, 2018
May Week 1 - Gaining a Testimony
Write the world's population number at the top of the board. Next have them find the number of members in each of the major world religions. Next, break down the Christian religions and then break down the Mormon religions by the numbers (list off a few off-shoots both from the 1800's as well as the 1900's).
The moneyball stat is that Mormonism represents about 0.2% of the world's current population and about 0.7% of the world's Christian population.
Write on the board the word TESTIMONY.
Let the numbers sink in a bit to let them see the odds of finding the one true religion on earth as well as what it means in terms of converting the world to Mormonism.
99.78% of the world doesn't not believe in Mormonism! Truly astronomical odds!
As of May 2017, the number are roughly as follows:
2.2B Christianity
1.6B Islam
1.1B Agnostic, Atheist, Secular
1.0B Hindu
1.0B Chinese Folk
0.5B Buddhism
7.5B WORLD POPULATION
1.2B Catholic
0.8B Protestant
0.3B Eastern Orthodox
0.05B Restorationism (0.016B Mormonism)
When we say "Testimony" what do we really mean? Also, what do we do with people who have "come to know" their religion is the one true religion? (see this video) In a sense, when we say testimony, we may mean broad, widely acceptable principles and we may mean something unique about our own religion.
Maybe show a venn diagram of some 'common' commandments and beliefs along with unique commandments and beliefs to certain religions.
Gaining a Testimony
Matthew 4 - Christ fasts in the wilderness for 40 days and nights and is tempted of the devil.
Matthew 14:22-33 - Peter testifies of Jesus, sees Christ walk on water, Peter himself walks on water, doubts and Jesus saves him (O ye of little faith) and Peter reaffirms his testimony of Christ.
Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75 - Peter says he'll never deny Christ, Jesus says Peter will deny him three times before the morning. Peter denies him three times and weeps bitterly.
Despite seeing and knowing and feeling the savior, Peter struggled mightily to gain a testimony of the Gospel. And with all that in mind, after the savior was resurrected, Peter went back to fishing. And along comes Jesus and the well known interchange of Jesus asking Peter if he (Peter) loves fish more than Jesus. To which Peter responds he loves the Lord, then Christ says 'feed my sheep' ... this repeats three times. Finally, Peter turns away from fishing and bares his testimony by showing it.
This is a good video that helps drive home the moment Peter finally grasps what Jesus has been trying to teach him all along: Elder Holland: Peter, Do You Love Me? The First and Great Commandment
And one other point - if Peter struggled so much to gain a testimony, how much harder is it for us! Nevertheless, the challenge is worth it.
It's all about the Two Great Commandments
In summary, we gain a testimony in serving and loving others.
A testimony is not found at the pulpit on Sunday, rather it is found in serving, lifting the hands that hang low, weeping with those who weep, going the extra mile, and turning the other cheek.
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but life and judgement day and gaining a testimony and religion and all that is simply about the Two Great Commandments and nothing else truly matters.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
February Week 4 - Doctrine of Christ
Ask students what the Doctrine of Christ is.
Some might give answers that are 'close', but keep prodding them to get the correct answer
Hint: the answer in the scriptures is near the parable of the good Samaritan
- Love God
- Love neighbor
- Write these on the board
Read passage from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-doctrine-of-christ?lang=eng
Joseph Smith confirmed the Savior’s central role in our doctrine in one definitive sentence:
Each student then shares the reference, reads it; answers how it is related to the two great commandments; and how they are applying that commandment in their life
Give them hints of where to look: 3 Ne, Matt, Mark, Luke, John, Mosiah 13, Exodus 22?
I. The Universal Moral Law
A. The Law Of Love
"First, love God your Creator more than anything else. Then, love all other people the same as you love yourself."
B. The Ten Commandments
1. "Do not put anything ahead of God your Creator."
2. "Do not make or worship idols."
3. "Do not take the name of God in vain."
4. "Take one day of complete rest each week, in honor of God."
5. "Honor your father and your mother."
6. "Do not commit murder."
7. "Do not commit adultery."
8. "Do not steal."
9. "Do not tell lies against anyone."
10. "Do not covet other people's possessions."
C. The Golden Rule "Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated."
II. The Other Commandments Of Jesus
Consider ending the lesson by watching Jean Valjean video(s) (see this post)
Some might give answers that are 'close', but keep prodding them to get the correct answer
Hint: the answer in the scriptures is near the parable of the good Samaritan
- Love God
- Love neighbor
- Write these on the board
Read passage from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-doctrine-of-christ?lang=eng
Joseph Smith confirmed the Savior’s central role in our doctrine in one definitive sentence:
“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it."
- What is an appendage? Draw a stick figure body on the board; what can you lose and still live? That is an appendage
- That means, if we love God and our neighbor, that is all that truly matters; everything else is an appendage
Each student then shares the reference, reads it; answers how it is related to the two great commandments; and how they are applying that commandment in their life
Give them hints of where to look: 3 Ne, Matt, Mark, Luke, John, Mosiah 13, Exodus 22?
I. The Universal Moral Law
A. The Law Of Love
"First, love God your Creator more than anything else. Then, love all other people the same as you love yourself."
B. The Ten Commandments
1. "Do not put anything ahead of God your Creator."
2. "Do not make or worship idols."
3. "Do not take the name of God in vain."
4. "Take one day of complete rest each week, in honor of God."
5. "Honor your father and your mother."
6. "Do not commit murder."
7. "Do not commit adultery."
8. "Do not steal."
9. "Do not tell lies against anyone."
10. "Do not covet other people's possessions."
C. The Golden Rule "Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated."
II. The Other Commandments Of Jesus
- "FORGIVE EVERYBODY OF ALL THEIR OFFENSES AGAINST YOU." (Forgive, and be forgiven.)
- "YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN."
- "ABIDE IN ME, AND LET ME ABIDE IN YOU."
- "LET PEOPLE SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS." (Do not hide your light under a basket.)
- "END DISPUTES QUICKLY."
- "WHATEVER CAUSES YOU TO SIN, GET RID OF IT."
- "DO NOT SWEAR OATHS AT ALL."
- "DO NOT RETURN OFFENSE FOR OFFENSE." (Turn the other cheek.)
- "GIVE WHAT PEOPLE ASK OF YOU, AND GIVE MORE THAN IS REQUIRED." (Go the extra mile.)
- "LOVE YOUR ENEMIES AND THOSE WHO WORK AGAINST YOU."
- "GIVE TO THE POOR TO PLEASE GOD, NOT TO GAIN APPROVAL FROM OTHER PEOPLE."
- "PRAY PRIVATELY AND SIMPLY, NOT TO IMPRESS OTHER PEOPLE."
- "MAKE YOUR PRAYERS BE LIKE THE LORD'S PRAYER."
- "WHEN YOU FAST, DO IT SECRETLY, NOT FOR SHOW."
- "STORE UP YOUR TREASURES IN HEAVEN, NOT ON EARTH."
- "DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR MATERIAL NEEDS."
- "DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE."
- "MAKE GOD YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY, AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR NEEDS."
- "DO NOT JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE." (Judge not, lest ye be judged.)
- "DO NOT GIVE HOLY THINGS TO DOGS OR CAST YOUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE."
- "ASK GOD FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO HAVE." (Seek, and ye shall find.)
- "FEED THE HUNGRY, CLOTHE THE NAKED, SHELTER THE HOMELESS, COMFORT THOSE IN DISTRESS."
- "FOLLOW THE NARROW PATH TO LIFE." (Enter by the narrow gate.)
- "BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS."
- "EXERCISE POWER OVER UNCLEAN SPIRITS."
- "LOVE LITTLE CHILDREN, DO NOT DESPISE THEM."
- "DO NOT TAKE THE TITLES 'MASTER' OR 'FATHER' FOR YOURSELF."
- "RESOLVE DISPUTES IN AN ORDERLY WAY, LIKE THIS . . . "
- "DO NOT OPPOSE OTHER BELIEVERS IN CHRIST WHO ARE NOT IN YOUR GROUP."
- "HAVE TOTAL FAITH IN GOD FOR EVERYTHING."
- "BE LIKE THE GOOD SAMARITAN." (Go, and do likewise.)
- "LOVE OTHER PEOPLE AS I HAVE LOVED YOU"
- "EAT BREAD AND DRINK WINE IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME."
- "WASH ONE ANOTHER'S FEET."
- "BE MERCIFUL."
- "GO AND TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM."
- "KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS."
- "BE PREPARED FOR YOUR MASTER TO RETURN."
Consider ending the lesson by watching Jean Valjean video(s) (see this post)
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Counting Costs, Heart-settling and Plowing
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| The Good Samaritan |
During this time of the year when so much changes so quickly, I'm reminded of one of my favorite stories - that of the shared experience between Jean Valjean and Bishop Bienvenu in the masterpiece Les Miserables. You may already be familiar with this story. Jean Valjean was a convict of 19 years for stealing bread. After many years of hard labor, he was released and he could find no place to live, no food to eat - no welcoming arms, except for one. That one was Bishop Bienvenu. Bienvenu means "welcome" ... Bishop Welcome, welcomed Jean Valjean to his home!
After giving Jean Valjean food and a place to rest, the bishop was repaid with theft. The gendarms caught Jean Valjean, returned him to the good bishop. The bishop turned the other cheek. Instead of turning on him, the bishop gave him more silver - two silver candle sticks to be exact. From the book, it reads;
"Jean Valjean was like a man on the point of fainting.
"The Bishop drew near to him, and said in a low voice:--
'Do not forget, never forget, that you have promised to use this money in becoming an honest man.'
"Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of ever having promised anything, remained speechless. The Bishop had emphasized the words when he uttered them. He resumed with solemnity:--
'Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.'
Bishop Bienvenu was a true, committed disciple of Christ.
Shifting gears now, I want to spend some time in the New Testament; in particular Luke, chapter 14. It is full of profound lessons.
To start off, Christ admonishes his disciples that when they make a feast, it's best to invite people who cannot possibly repay the kindness. To which one of his disciples says in verse 15, "blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God" which I interpret that to be a bit of a joke or quip - similar to saying that a person is blessed when they get a free meal and don't have to repay! Only in this case, the free gift is living in the kingdom God.
This causes Jesus to teach a few more parables. In the first one, a man made a great supper, symbolizing God's gift of eternal life. This man had invited many people to eat with him. When the feast was ready, the man's servant tells the invitees the food is ready, but invariably, they decline the invitation - offering an excuse as to why they cannot join the meal - tending to a piece of recently purchased land, tending to livestock or even caring for a spouse. All these excuses enraged the master and in his anger, he tells his servant to find those who would accept his meal - the poor, the maimed, the blind and then people on the street. He vows that none of the original invitees will taste his meal.
Next, Jesus tells two more parables about counting the cost of discipleship. He makes it absolutely clear the cost of discipleship is EVERYTHING. He says that even a man will count the cost of building a tower or home and even a king would weigh the cost of going to war. If a man and a king weigh the costs on such tiny matters, ((when compared to eternal salvation) should not the disciples who claim to follow Jesus also consider the steep cost of following Christ?
We too, need to count the cost of discipleship. Are we truly willing to commit to Christ? Are we willing to give our all - similar to Bishop Bienvenu?
And let's suppose someone weighs the cost of discipleship and views the challenge as acceptable - that the price to be paid (which is EVERYTHING) is worth entering the kingdom of God - this person then needs to settle this matter in their heart (see Luke 21:14). This settling of the heart, is synonymous with commitment to God and his kingdom.
This settling is not easy and sometimes can take years. I've observed that many people - normal people, Christians, followers, leaders - will settle or focus on the wrong thing. My Sunday School class will recognize this next quote from Joseph Smith regarding on what we ought to settle our hearts. He said, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it." I then draw a stick figure on the chalkboard - a body, a head, two arms, two hands, two legs and two feet. I ask them to show me the appendages. They point to the hands, feet, arms and legs. I then ask about the head and heart, if these are appendages - the answer is no, those are VITAL to the survival of the person. And so to apply this concept to settling the gospel in our hearts, we ought to focus on the Gospel of Christ - namely the two great commandments. And we ought to not focus on appendages such as controversial church history, claims to authority or church programs - all of which are subject to change. What is vital and never subject to change, is our love of God and neighbor - if we don't fulfill our duties to God and neighbor, nothing else matters.
My favorite scripture from the Book of Mormon is Helaman 5:12. It says, "it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
To repeat, the foundation and rock upon what we ought to build our testimony and commitment is Jesus Christ and his core doctrine of loving God and loving neighbor.
Once you have settled in your heart; that you will love God and neighbor, you must do as Luke 9:57-62 instructs. Some of the disciples of Christ say they would follow him wherever he goes. To which Jesus responds, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath no where to lay his head." Other disciples are willing to follow Jesus, but request of Jesus to let them go and bury their father or to say goodbye to their family. Jesus laments that "no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looks back, is fit for the kingdom." These disciples who "look back" are unfit for the kingdom of God - they are not focused on the task at hand - which is to plow the hardened soil of the souls of men, in an effort to prepare them to accept and live the word of God. Jesus re-affirms his steep price of discipleship that once a man has settled in his heart to follow Jesus, and then put his hand on the plow, that they are not to look back. Notice in this case, the disciples' hands are probably still on the plow and they are moving along with the oxen, but looking back often. This indicates a lack of real commitment - their heart has not been fully given over to Jesus, and so he declares they are unfit for the kingdom of God!
Imagine if Bishop Bienvenu waffled or doubted the two great commandments, what state or condition Jean Valjean might have ended up in.
Instead, we are to count the costs of discipleship, settle the matter in our hearts and then put our hand to the plow and till the earth and not look back. Be decided and committed in your love of God and service to our neighbors.
With our hand firmly on the plow, and only looking forward, how are we to live a committed life, by loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves?
I have found a very useful thought exercise that has helped me to stay focused on loving God and neighbor. This exercise begins with gratitude. It is a prayer of thankfulness to God for creating me and allowing me to live in this wonderful world. This is the first circle of compassion.
Having a heart full of gratitude and feeling assured of God's love of me, I circumscribe a second circle of compassion to those closest to me - my wife Jill and my children Emma, Ben, Erick and Camille. These are my nearest and dearest and most important neighbors to me. Much of my effort and time should be devoted to teaching and loving and serving them.
The next circle extends to my parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents and all my relatives. These have helped form me into who I am today. I am grateful for them and do what I can to serve and help them.
The next circle extends out to my co-workers and next-door neighbors. These are people who I see most often besides my immediate family. These are the neighbors God has put in my path to love and serve.
The next circle extends out to other friends, neighbors and acquaintances who I see less often. I do my best to think of their needs and how best to serve them. Often these interactions are brief and usually involve talking, listening and offering words of encouragement or offering some way to serve.
The next circle extends to people who I do not know, but encounter in my daily course of events - the person who scans my groceries, the boy who bags my groceries, the people I see on the greenbelts when I go on walks. I try to acknowledge them, say 'hello' to them and try to act socially and kindly to them, and if possible, help them if they are in need.
The next circle extends to people I may never see or encounter, but nonetheless, I see them as children of God. I accept that there is divinity within them and I strive to have compassion and love for them regardless of their ideology, political leanings or life choices. Each human being deserves respect and love.
There is no better sermon than the primary song, "Jesus said love everyone." The simple, one-verse song says all that we need to know.
Jesus said love everyone
Treat them kindly too
When your heart is filled with love
Others will love you
Let's revisit the fruits of Bishop Bienvenu's love toward Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean turns his life around, becomes mayor, cares for Fantine, rescues Cosette, saves the life of an innocent man who is accused of being the escaped convict Jean Valjean, saves the life of a sailor, saves another man's life while he is mayor, and lastly saves the life of Marius, who would become the husband of Cosette. Jean Valjean, having put his hand to the plow, did not look back.
To conclude, I want to share what I call the perfect trifecta of scriptures. Brother Rick Carruth shared these three scriptures a few years ago in a talk he gave and I think these scriptures perfectly sum up what commitment to Christ means.
First: Jesus taught, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love they neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:43-44)
Second: concerning the two greatest commandments, he taught, "Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
Third and lastly he taught, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another; as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)
To summarize, we are to love our enemies like we love our neighbors. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are to love ourselves and our neighbors as Jesus loved his disciples and us.
It is my prayer, that we all commit our hearts to God and neighbor. That we have greater compassion and love towards all of God's children. That we give each other the benefit of the doubt. That we try to show mercy and understanding, that we mourn with those that mourn, that we turn the other cheek, that we walk the extra mile. This is my sincerest prayer and I offer it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Love
Jesus taught, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love they neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:43-44)
Concerning the two greatest commandments, he taught, "That shalt love the Lord they God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
And lastly he taught, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another; as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)
To summarize, we are to love our enemies like we love our neighbors. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are to love ourselves and our neighbors as Jesus loved his disciples and us.
Concerning the two greatest commandments, he taught, "That shalt love the Lord they God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
And lastly he taught, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another; as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)
To summarize, we are to love our enemies like we love our neighbors. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are to love ourselves and our neighbors as Jesus loved his disciples and us.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Engaging, Capacity to Act and Feeling Love for Others
This selection comes from this talk.
6. We need always to make allowance in the kingdom for the fact that this is a divine church full of imperfect people! Indeed, “the net gathereth of every kind.” For instance, some members among us have an unfortunate and exclusionary condescension toward others, while other members have a quiet certitude that causes them to assert their testimonies humbly because the Spirit has witnessed to them; they witness to others to maintain their integrity; they tell others the truth of salvational things “as they were, as they are, and as they shall become.” These two kinds of members read the same scriptures, but one disengages, Jonah-like, almost with delight, while the other will not leave his post in “Nineveh” so long as there are any souls to be saved. Probably the differing response is rooted in the differing capacity to love. The presence of absolute truth or apocalyptic insights in one who lacks the capacity to love is likely to produce some behavioral anomalies. Love leads us into—not away from—Nineveh: into the fray, just as Jesus was involved with mankind, for as G. K. Chesterton observed, He carried his five wounds in the front of the fray.
Some want involvement without giving themselves. Some want the wonders of religion without the work—there is no way. Others want the thrills of theology without the hard doctrines—there is no way! When we are serious about change, it is “not enough to merely leave Egypt: one must also travel to the Promised Land!”
commentary: the above speaks of commitment and engaging others. you either engage in service and the cause of helping others, or you don't. the gospel is about action. and what causes you to act? keep on reading.
7. We must make place for the gospel and the Church more generously in our lives if we are to grow in our capacity to both feel and to act. Education, the media, and what we know from the scriptures have enlarged our circles of concern and feeling. But within each of our circles of concern, there is a much smaller circle of competency, and it needs to grow too.
C. S. Lewis observed, “The more often a man feels without acting, the less often he will be able to act, and in the long run, the less often he will be able to feel.” In countless ways the Church not only enlarges our circles of concern, but it also helps us to carry out the concerns we have. Significantly, Nephi, Paul, and Moroni—cultures and centuries apart—each observed that individuals and whole cultures can, by sin, reach a point where they are past feeling. Ironically, lasciviousness, which exploits sensuous feelings, results finally in a loss of a capacity to feel. In our own society the sad consequences of too much exulting in feeling—of sex divorced from love, and the emptiness of emotion without principle—will wash over us for generations. In the declining society of Moroni’s time, citizens were described as being without order, without mercy, without civilization, and past feeling after they had “lost their love, one towards another. …” (Moro. 9:5.)
commentary: love brings about wanting and desire. love and desire should spur us to action. but when we disassociate love and action, we begin to lose the capacity to feel. when we don't feel, we don't care, when we don't care, we don't act and when we don't act evil triumphs.
8. We must be more quick to realize the enormous implications of the doctrine of immortality and how our knowledge of that reality will set us apart in this era. One can’t help but admire the cosmic heroism of those decent people who persist in goodness in spite of their agnosticism, but we still should see others differently because of this doctrine. Ours is no mere biological brotherhood with life as a brief encounter, but ours is a brotherhood that is fashioned in the realization that relationships will persist a million years from now, and more. Where we do not so relate to each other, we diminish the credibility of our commitment to this doctrine in the eyes of others. For a peculiar people, our friendships should be peculiarly rich.
commentary: to me, the above really hits home and answers the question - why the gospel? if mankind is to become immortal, do we want immortal evil or immortal goodness running the universe?
In summary, we see the world, life, and death differently. This is not a random, mutant planet with people who will be enveloped in nothingness; it is a special place, a planet with a purpose, for, as Isaiah observed, the Lord created it to be inhabited. (See Isa. 45:18.)
We are all stewards, and we ought to approach this planet and its resources as carefully as Adam dressed the Garden. In seeking to establish dominion over the earth, it ought to be a righteous dominion. Still, this earth is not a place we need to be so reluctant to leave. As G. K. Chesterton wrote, Christian courage rests on a love of life that may need to take the form of a willingness to die; it is not the willingness to die that reflects a disdain or disaffection for life.
Without immortality there can be no real and lasting meaning to life. Jesus has not only immunized us against the lasting sting of the grave, but his teachings can also help us not to “look upon death with any degree of terror.” (Alma 27:28.) The same Jesus promised us, through one of his prophets, that if we could live according to his word, we would have, in this life, a knowledge of what is “just and true and render every man his due” (justice and discernment); we would live peaceably with others (peacefulness); we would rear our families without fighting and quarreling, teaching them to love one another (the capacity to love learned in happy homes); and we would care for the needy (a program for poverty). (See Mosiah 4.) In a sense, while others have the slogans, we have the solutions that, if applied, will carry us to “a state of happiness which hath no end.” (Morm. 7:7.)
6. We need always to make allowance in the kingdom for the fact that this is a divine church full of imperfect people! Indeed, “the net gathereth of every kind.” For instance, some members among us have an unfortunate and exclusionary condescension toward others, while other members have a quiet certitude that causes them to assert their testimonies humbly because the Spirit has witnessed to them; they witness to others to maintain their integrity; they tell others the truth of salvational things “as they were, as they are, and as they shall become.” These two kinds of members read the same scriptures, but one disengages, Jonah-like, almost with delight, while the other will not leave his post in “Nineveh” so long as there are any souls to be saved. Probably the differing response is rooted in the differing capacity to love. The presence of absolute truth or apocalyptic insights in one who lacks the capacity to love is likely to produce some behavioral anomalies. Love leads us into—not away from—Nineveh: into the fray, just as Jesus was involved with mankind, for as G. K. Chesterton observed, He carried his five wounds in the front of the fray.
Some want involvement without giving themselves. Some want the wonders of religion without the work—there is no way. Others want the thrills of theology without the hard doctrines—there is no way! When we are serious about change, it is “not enough to merely leave Egypt: one must also travel to the Promised Land!”
commentary: the above speaks of commitment and engaging others. you either engage in service and the cause of helping others, or you don't. the gospel is about action. and what causes you to act? keep on reading.
7. We must make place for the gospel and the Church more generously in our lives if we are to grow in our capacity to both feel and to act. Education, the media, and what we know from the scriptures have enlarged our circles of concern and feeling. But within each of our circles of concern, there is a much smaller circle of competency, and it needs to grow too.
C. S. Lewis observed, “The more often a man feels without acting, the less often he will be able to act, and in the long run, the less often he will be able to feel.” In countless ways the Church not only enlarges our circles of concern, but it also helps us to carry out the concerns we have. Significantly, Nephi, Paul, and Moroni—cultures and centuries apart—each observed that individuals and whole cultures can, by sin, reach a point where they are past feeling. Ironically, lasciviousness, which exploits sensuous feelings, results finally in a loss of a capacity to feel. In our own society the sad consequences of too much exulting in feeling—of sex divorced from love, and the emptiness of emotion without principle—will wash over us for generations. In the declining society of Moroni’s time, citizens were described as being without order, without mercy, without civilization, and past feeling after they had “lost their love, one towards another. …” (Moro. 9:5.)
commentary: love brings about wanting and desire. love and desire should spur us to action. but when we disassociate love and action, we begin to lose the capacity to feel. when we don't feel, we don't care, when we don't care, we don't act and when we don't act evil triumphs.
8. We must be more quick to realize the enormous implications of the doctrine of immortality and how our knowledge of that reality will set us apart in this era. One can’t help but admire the cosmic heroism of those decent people who persist in goodness in spite of their agnosticism, but we still should see others differently because of this doctrine. Ours is no mere biological brotherhood with life as a brief encounter, but ours is a brotherhood that is fashioned in the realization that relationships will persist a million years from now, and more. Where we do not so relate to each other, we diminish the credibility of our commitment to this doctrine in the eyes of others. For a peculiar people, our friendships should be peculiarly rich.
commentary: to me, the above really hits home and answers the question - why the gospel? if mankind is to become immortal, do we want immortal evil or immortal goodness running the universe?
In summary, we see the world, life, and death differently. This is not a random, mutant planet with people who will be enveloped in nothingness; it is a special place, a planet with a purpose, for, as Isaiah observed, the Lord created it to be inhabited. (See Isa. 45:18.)
We are all stewards, and we ought to approach this planet and its resources as carefully as Adam dressed the Garden. In seeking to establish dominion over the earth, it ought to be a righteous dominion. Still, this earth is not a place we need to be so reluctant to leave. As G. K. Chesterton wrote, Christian courage rests on a love of life that may need to take the form of a willingness to die; it is not the willingness to die that reflects a disdain or disaffection for life.
Without immortality there can be no real and lasting meaning to life. Jesus has not only immunized us against the lasting sting of the grave, but his teachings can also help us not to “look upon death with any degree of terror.” (Alma 27:28.) The same Jesus promised us, through one of his prophets, that if we could live according to his word, we would have, in this life, a knowledge of what is “just and true and render every man his due” (justice and discernment); we would live peaceably with others (peacefulness); we would rear our families without fighting and quarreling, teaching them to love one another (the capacity to love learned in happy homes); and we would care for the needy (a program for poverty). (See Mosiah 4.) In a sense, while others have the slogans, we have the solutions that, if applied, will carry us to “a state of happiness which hath no end.” (Morm. 7:7.)
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Love at Home
The First Presidency Message this month is called "Love at Home."
The one paragraph from President Monson, that really stood out to me was the one entitled What is Most Important. It states: “What is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, ‘They do not love that do not show their love.’ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.”
Jill and I recently watched the last Harry Potter movie. And as cheesy as it sounds, my favorite part of the whole movie was when Harry was able to talk to his parents before facing Tom Riddle. The whole premise of the Harry Potter series is based on love; on the one action of Lily Potter when she attempted to save her son.
Now for a real-life example of family love. We recently had some good friends stay at our home for the weekend. We always knew we were somewhat distantly related. But this time, we got out the genealogy book my parents wrote and looked up some pedigree charts. We found and read all the stories about how the Putnams and Waltons were connected. We found that Israel Putnam and Ruth Walton married and thus connected these two families. We also read that Israel's father (Artemus) was baptized by George Walton on February 14, 1844! As we told our kids these stories, their already strong friendship grew even stronger. Again, we already knew we were distantly related somehow, but when it was confirmed and we knew we were family, our love for each other became sweeter and stronger. Family is everything! Family is love!
The one paragraph from President Monson, that really stood out to me was the one entitled What is Most Important. It states: “What is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, ‘They do not love that do not show their love.’ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.”
Jill and I recently watched the last Harry Potter movie. And as cheesy as it sounds, my favorite part of the whole movie was when Harry was able to talk to his parents before facing Tom Riddle. The whole premise of the Harry Potter series is based on love; on the one action of Lily Potter when she attempted to save her son.
Now for a real-life example of family love. We recently had some good friends stay at our home for the weekend. We always knew we were somewhat distantly related. But this time, we got out the genealogy book my parents wrote and looked up some pedigree charts. We found and read all the stories about how the Putnams and Waltons were connected. We found that Israel Putnam and Ruth Walton married and thus connected these two families. We also read that Israel's father (Artemus) was baptized by George Walton on February 14, 1844! As we told our kids these stories, their already strong friendship grew even stronger. Again, we already knew we were distantly related somehow, but when it was confirmed and we knew we were family, our love for each other became sweeter and stronger. Family is everything! Family is love!
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