Family--Promises and Potential

Merry Christmas! As we reflect more on the life of the Savior in this Christmas season, and spend more time with our families, it is likely that in our lives is an air of happiness, peace, and contentment; or, it could just be a stomach full of fines meats, cakes, and candies, the setting in of what I lovingly call "Holiday Hangover."

Assuming that this warm, fuzzy feeling (see http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-27,00.html) is due to the Christmas Spirit, let me reflect on the importance that our families play in the whole scheme of happiness beyond the Yuletide gleam. Our families are ever important for our learning and growth, and they are essential to Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness. I know that through modern revelation prophets have declared that the family is ordained of God, and that we may live with our families eternally. This great blessing of having an eternal family is contingent, however, upon our being willing to follow the Lord's commandments throughout the duration of our mortal experience. Foremost among these commandments is making sacred covenants in God's Holy Temples. The standard for families is the same as the standard for individuals. Upon making promises in the temple we are also promised great blessings (as is the definition of a covenant), exaltation being the crown jewel. But this can only be achieved as we dedicate our lives to the love and service of our families, as well as all those who surround us. God commands us to be perfect (3 Ne. 12: 48); it is our job to figure out how to achieve it.

In 1995, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles released "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," which laid out in plainness Heavenly Father's opinion on the family as a unit. Here are some highlights, as summarized by Elder M. Russel Ballard in the October 2005 General Conference:

“Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.”

• “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.”

• “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.”

• “Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”

• “The disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

And the last words of the proclamation express the simple truth that the family is “the fundamental unit of society.”

He went on to say:

The world needs to know what the proclamation teaches, because the family is the basic unit of society, of the economy, of our culture, and of our government. And as Latter-day Saints know, the family will also be the basic unit in the celestial kingdom.

In the Church, our belief in the overriding importance of families is rooted in restored doctrine. We know of the sanctity of families in both directions of our eternal existence. We know that before this life we lived with our Heavenly Father as part of His family, and we know that family relationships can endure beyond death.

If we live and act upon this knowledge, we will attract the world to us. Parents who place a high priority on their families will gravitate to the Church because it offers the family structure, values, doctrine, and eternal perspective that they seek and cannot find elsewhere.

Our family-centered perspective should make Latter-day Saints strive to be the best parents in the world. It should give us enormous respect for our children, who truly are our spiritual siblings, and it should cause us to devote whatever time is necessary to strengthen our families. Indeed, nothing is more critically connected to happiness—both our own and that of our children—than how well we love and support one another within the family.

It is this "striving" that helps us endure through the trials that will come upon all families in the course of a lifetime. What does "striving" feel like? In my opinion, if this is done right, it feels difficult (and at times painful) but ever hopeful. It involves staying positive, and not being swayed by every wind of doctrine (James 1:6). As a family, it may mean putting off those things that seem so attractive in "the now," as those things that endure the world are more desirable. Might I suggest that we all look inside ourselves, and decide to strive to strengthen our families. This is in accordance with God's Plan. Upon doing so, we will find where we are lacking. Let us then have courage to move toward improving that we may reach our full potential. This, of course, is an inheritance as a family unit in the Celestial Kingdom. Oh, what a great blessing if we just strive today and tomorrow!

It is my hope and prayer that we all may remember why we are in families. They exist to strengthen us; let find strength, and give it as well. I hope that we will strive this coming year to love a little more, and remember a little more why we love our "loved ones."

Have a great week!

Accesing the Atonement and the Power of Positivity

This week I would like to center my thoughts on the battle that rages between the positive and the negative in life. It is a product of the larger war between good and evil, versus the Spirit of God and the Spirit of the Devil. It the former seems less consequential than the latter at times, but make no mistake: our attitude (be it positive or negative) is a catalyst to these respective spirits.

Let me provide a case example to elucidate. I know an individual who several months ago was diagnosed as having a level 4 glioblastoma in his brain the size of a baseball. Glioblastoma are cancerous tumors, and they are assigned five levels, based on their pervasiveness in the brain matter. This individual could have given up, and taken a negative attitude toward his pathology. He could have looked at the odds of survival (which were not good with the cancer at such a stage), and accepted defeat to his imperfect body. But he somehow knew that Heavenly Father had more for him to do on this Earth, and fought, and continues to fight. His neurosurgeons have told him that he is not just beating the odds, but is "clobbering" them. This individual is my former mission president, Jeffrey R. Morrow. To read the latest on his recovery, click here: http://jeffreymorrow.blogspot.com/2009/12/7th-inning-and-clobbering-odds.html.

President Morrow has been positive throughout, and in so doing has had the Spirit breathe life into him (Abraham 5:7). So what is it about people like Jeffrey Morrow that sets them apart? And why are there so few that have such a strong attitude, that it is necessary that those who do "beat the odds?" I have given much contemplation to these questions, and have resolved that the best answer is often the simplest: it is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The negative in life must needs exist that we learn in this life, and aptly prepare to meet God ( 2 Nephi 2:11, Alma 34:32). But those who stay positive, are filled with joy, and move forward despite hardship are those who truly apply the Atonement in their lives. We read in Alma 7:12:

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

It was a great revelation to me several years ago when I learned that the Atonement is not just for those things that I have done wrong, but for all that afflicts me. "Infirmities" is much like the Spanish "enfermedades," which means "sicknesses." Anything that causes me to be unwell was felt by the Savior in the Garden, and on the Cross. And what joy it is to actually believe that! And what joy it is to actually know that! I know that is the Atonement, as well, that helps me remain positive in the face of trial. I stay positive because I know that I can turn to the Savior, and make the negative go away as I access the powers of that supernal Gift. I am able to grow in faith, and change my view of the world around me. I like to think I got much of this from Jeffrey Morrow, as well as from my parents, grandparents, and all those who found joy in the Savior.

For those of us who find that it is easier to be miserable, understand that happiness is real. I cringe when I look around at scores of people contented to live in discontent. Life is better than that; it includes the Savior Jesus Christ; it includes his infinite Atonement. Especially in this Christmas season, let us celebrate how positive our lives can be because of Christ's life, teachings, death, and resurrection. He lives. I know this with all my heart. May we all believe this is my prayer, that we may access the Atonement, and feel the power that comes into our lives as we change and become "new creatures" in Christ. (Mosiah 27:26, 2 Cor 5:17)

May all have a great week and a very Merry Christmas!

And the Lord Called His People Zion

I would like to start this post with two scriptures:

But verily I say unto you, I have decreed that your brethren which have been scattered shall return to the lands of their inheritances, and shall build up the waste places of Zion.

For after much tribulation, as I have said unto you in a former commandment, cometh the blessing.

Behold, this is the blessing which I have promised after your tribulations, and the tribulations of your brethren—your redemption, and the redemption of your brethren, even their restoration to the land of Zion, to be established, no more to be thrown down. (DyC 103:11-13)

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. (Moses 7:18)

In these two scriptures we learn foundational doctrine as to the literal gathering of Israel in the last days. This WILL happen in preparation of the Second Coming of the Savior, when He will reign for a Millennium, and when the earth will be restored to its paradisaical glory (Articles of Faith 1:10). The righteous will live in Zion, which will be established on the American continent. Zion will be a Utopian society where its citizens equally worship God, and consecrate themselves unto the Church, that there may be "no poor among them." This happens on two conditions, as was illustrated by the two scriptures above: 1) the people pass successfully through tribulation, and 2) the people are of one heart and one mind.

1) Pass Successfully through Tribulation

The Prophet Joseph Smith said that "a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation." (see Guide to the Scriptures, sacrifice) Have you thought about what that really means? As finite beings, we are unable to perfectly give ourselves unto the Lord, and in fact, it is part of His Plan that we are unable to do so. This causes conflict between our natural, imperfect desires, and the exigencies of God's commandments, which require perfection of us. The inability to live up to this standard causes tribulation and trial, which tests our ability to repent and otherwise apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. But, if we are successful, we will be given all the blessings that the Lord already desires to grant us, that there "shall not be room enough to receive [them]." (Malachi 3:10)

2)Be of One Heart and One Mind

This, in my mind, is the more difficult requirement to be a Zion community. It is hard because a great part of this life is relishing in the differences that we have, and the diverse talents that we all have been given. I think that in order to be called Zion, we will have to take this a step further, glorying in others to a point that we already know how others will most fully contribute to the community. We will know this because we will all have the same goal in our hearts and minds: to glorify God and build his Kingdom here on Earth.

I believe that we can start doing this by remembering the simple, loving things that we like to do this time of year more than others. It starts by recognizing those we have difficulty loving, and making it a personal quest to learn to love them. And this does not mean in the way that we love everyone else, because that obviously doesn't work for those who need a different type of love. We need to find the diverse manners of love, just as diverse as we are today. Then, after we have done this, let us commit to do this for the rest of our lives, not just during a season when we can wake up a few days later and be unaccountable. That, in my opinion, is the flaw of the Christmas season, one that we all need to repent of. If we can do more to love others more perfectly at one point without much sacrifice, let us strive to do this to the point at which it becomes a great burden. If we are not sacrificing, we are not doing it right. This is plain and simple. It is my prayer that we may more fully adopt this way of thinking, myself included, that we may all one day be able to be called Zion.

Have a Great Week!!

On Holy Ground

This Sunday I wish to write on the importance of attending the temple, and being worthy to attend. The temple is a holy place where we can make sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father which enable us to stand blameless before Him in the last day. It takes "clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalms 24:4). Elder David A. Bednar said the following, referring to the early saints of the Church:

What was it that gave those early Saints such strength? It was the fire of the temple covenant that burned in their hearts. It was their commitment to worship and honorably hold a name and standing in the house of the Lord.

We do now and will yet face great challenges to the work of the Lord. But like the pioneers who found the place which God for them prepared, so we will fresh courage take, knowing our God will never us forsake (see “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Hymns, no. 30). Today temples dot the earth as sacred places of ordinances and covenants, of edification, and of refuge from the storm.

It is my prayer that we all may be able to find refuge from the storm in the the Lord's holy temples. But it is important to remember that the temples are "holy ground" (Exodus 3:5), and we will only receive refuge if we are clean and pure. The Spirit can only touch us if we are in the right spiritual condition; therefore, may we repent that our ground may not be stony, but ever willing to receive the knowledge that God wishes to bestow upon us (Mark 4:5, 16). May we be morally clean, pay an honest tithe, obey the Word of Wisdom, and keep the Sabbath Day holy. May we obey all the Lord's commandments with a singleness of heart, that our joy may be full (Doctrine & Covenants 59:13). This is when we receive edification: when we obey because we love the Lord, and understand that His commandments are in place for our good.

It is my prayer that we may all find strength in the house of the Lord. Have a great week!