Being vs. Doing: Creating Proactive and Reactive Strategies, and an Analysis of Christlike Attributes that Grant us Our Inheritance

I start this post with a classic dichotomy that will ever be in question until the end of time, and then apply its precepts to ideas related to the Gospel, as well as behavioral science. The classic dichotomy pits being against doing, nature against nurture. Now, much controversy has sprung up around this theme in recent years, but I would like to focus on this dichotomy as applied to the Great Plan of Salvation.

We know that we were foreordained, before we were born, to come to this Earth to obtain bodies and gain experience. Our nature is divine; we are children of God. Our potential is infinite; we may become even as God is. On the 'doing' side of things, we must use our mortal timetable (i.e., the time we have alive on Earth) to work out our salvation, ever repenting and serving all around us. In this case, being and doing work hand in hand, seamlessly proving that "improvement and progression are one eternal round." (Hymns, #184).

What do improvement and progression feel like? In my experience, they are two brothers who like to inflict immediate pain on the unprepared. They are the impetus to the refiner's fire (3 Nephi 24:2; Malachi 3:2), which eventually converts us into "new creatures." (Mosiah 27:25-26). And make no mistake--the fuel to this fire is repentance. As we do so, we become more aware of our surroundings, and are better able to discern between truth and error. The Spirit works through us to plan and prepare for the future onslaught of the adversary, and if we are humble, meek, and submissive (Mosiah 3:19), we may weather the storm.

In thinking about how we plan to weather the storm, I noticed a corollary with modern behavioral science, which may help us with the "doing." Recently, I have had the opportunity to perform functional behavior assessments for the "problem behaviors" of certain clients whom I serve. The idea of the assessment is to find the underlying causes or "functions" of what the client is doing wrong (e.g., concluding that a certain client is aggressive because he/she is seeking attention). After finding out the functions of behavior, strategies are created and implemented to help the target behavior from occurring, as well as helping douse it when it does occur. Both the "proactive strategies" and "reactive strategies" are connected back to the core function, and therefore are effective in their implementation. As we strive to improve, I hope we can think of what really is behind our sins. Why, really, are we acting in such a way? Yes, it is understandable that we are all imperfect, but I believe that Heavenly Father has given us the capacity to think and grow by the Spirit; I believe that finding the functions of our behavior, and creating strategies to ameliorate them is within that capacity.

As far as "being," I think the simplest explanation is the best: it lies in our Savior Jesus Christ! I implore us all to study the life of the Savior, to see how we can become more Christlike. Some of these include faith, hope, charity and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience. And in putting these into practice, we can employ the same strategies that we use to ameliorate our "problem behaviors." For example, in Preach My Gospel, Chapter 6 (aptly named "Christlike Attributes") we find useful steps to implementation:

• Identify the attribute you wish to develop
• Write a definition and description of the attribute
• Record questions to answer as you study
• List and study thoroughly passages of scripture that teach about the attribute
• Record your feelings and impressions
• Set goals and make plans to apply the attribute in your life
• Pray for the Lord to help you develop the attribute
• Evaluate your progress periodically in developing each attribute (p. 123)
  

I feel that these steps are inspired by God, and can be applied to any of us as we choose to enter the refiner's fire. It is my prayer that we may make this choice. It is likely the most difficult choice to make. But hope springs eternal, as all we need to start the smoothing process is to have a desire to believe in Christ, and His complete redeeming power (see Alma 32:27). May we all strive one more day, one more week, one more year, until the time for us to leave this mortal sphere is passed. If we do so, I know that we will receive our inheritance, and I know that it will be sweet. We have divine natures, and eternal potentials. Let us act like it. Moreover, let us take the actions necessary that put us in a position to act this way. That is the crux of the issue!

Have a great week!

What do I Have to Inherit?

My study this week was spurred by three verses found in Doctrine and Covenants:

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.

Nevertheless, if they pollute their inheritances they shall be thrown down; for I will not spare them if they pollute their inheritances. (DyC 103:11-14)

This revelation was given in response to the trials and tribulations that the early Saints in Jackson County, Missouri were receiving. In it, the Lord outlines two types of trials: those that come in the name of future blessing and growth, an those that we receive because our own lack of obedience, here termed "pollut[ion of our] inheritances." This led me to wonder what we have to inherit, and how we go about polluting it. It is evident that the Lord in these verses referred to a land in which the Saints could peaceably worship; however, I believe there are even more things that are in store for us today. So, why don't we walk down that road?

What's In Store

The scriptures are replete with references to what we as children of God are to inherit. An inheritance is something that our progenitor has that he decides to bequeath unto us. Often, an inheritance is something that we receive in response to staying close to the benefactor through the years, holding true to his or her desires. An inheritance is always conferred upon children, grandchildren, or otherwise younger kin who can surely uphold the legacy that the benefactor has put into place.

God's inheritance is no different; if we are righteous, we may be considered his children (see Matt 5:9, 44-45, Moroni 7:19). So, what is our inheritance? What does Heavenly Father desire to bequeath upon us? It is really quite simple:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39)

Immortality and eternal life is our inheritance. This means living with God and Jesus Christ for eternity in the Celestial Kingdom. It means inheriting all that they have, able to make worlds of our own, able to build endless family chains, able to receive thrones and principalities (see DyC 132:19, 121:29).


How We Pollute

In my study this week I came up with some synonyms and correlates of 'pollution':

• Degradation
• Dirtiness/Filthiness
• Dammed
• Clogged
  
• Suffocation
• Contamination
• Jaded
• Depletion
• Dilution
• Lack of Clarity

All of these connote a loss or lack of purity, clarity, or strength. They connote being unable to move forward in the proper course of action. They conjure up images of slime, silt, gunk, and smog--all things that are undesirable. Yet, so often and easily, we give into spiritual entropy, and let our minds and hearts get polluted, and in essence , our inheritance, as no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God (see Ephesians 5:5).

What We Can Do About It

Elder Marion D. Hanks said:

• “Jesus taught his followers the parable of the sheep and the goats, representing the judgment to come, in which he clearly identified those who will inherit ‘life eternal’ and those who will ‘go away into everlasting punishment’ (Matthew 25:46). The key difference was that those who should inherit the kingdom with him had developed the habit of helping, had experienced the joy of giving and the satisfaction of serving. They had responded to the needs of the hungry, thirsty, homeless, the naked, the sick, and those in prison. …

• “Nothing would seem more clear than the high premium the Savior put upon selfless service to others as an indispensable element of Christian conduct and of salvation. Helping, giving, and sacrificing are, or should be, as natural as growing and breathing” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1992, 10; or Ensign, May 1992, 9).

Friends, this is the answer in regards to our inheritance. Let us be there when called upon. Have a Great Week!

Next Week: Being vs. Doing: Creating Proactive and Reactive Strategies, and an Analysis of Christlike Attributes that Grant us Our Inheritance

On Becoming Angels

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
--2 Nephi 32:3--

The above is such a simple scripture, with such profound doctrine. We learn that angels are moved to speak by the power of the Spirit, upon which they testify of Jesus Christ. In reading the verse prior, we see that those who receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost can speak with the "tongue of angels (2 nephi 32:2)". That means that all who receive the Holy Ghost are entitled to be angels when they testify of Christ. What a promise! But how is it done?

Luckily, through revelation Heavenly Father has set out an infrastructure by which we may become angels in the lives of others. First, we all have talents, and these are added upon if we choose to use them to serve (see Matt. 25: 15-16, 20, 22, 24-25, 28). Second, we are given avenues by which we can serve others in our unique way (as dictated by our God-given strengths), namely callings and assignments within the Church. If we take advantage of this infrastructure with service to others in mind, we may become angels for those around us.

However, this only can occur if we stay close to the Spirit. Angels are moved upon and speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, which only has effect to move us if we live in such a way that invites him to stay. This is so essential, as the call to serve almost never comes at a time of our most convenience (see http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-20,00.html). But when the call does come, we must be ready. Consider the story related by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in the October 2008 General Conference:

When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind. Elder James Dunn, from this pulpit just moments ago, used that word in his invocation to describe this Primary choir—and why not? With the spirit, faces, and voices of those children in our mind and before our eyes, may I share with you an account by my friend and BYU colleague, the late Clyn D. Barrus. I do so with the permission of his wife, Marilyn, and their family.

Referring to his childhood on a large Idaho farm, Brother Barrus spoke of his nightly assignment to round up the cows at milking time. Because the cows pastured in a field bordered by the occasionally treacherous Teton River, the strict rule in the Barrus household was that during the spring flood season the children were never to go after any cows who ventured across the river. They were always to return home and seek mature help.

One Saturday just after his seventh birthday, Brother Barrus’s parents promised the family a night at the movies if the chores were done on time. But when young Clyn arrived at the pasture, the cows he sought had crossed the river, even though it was running at high flood stage. Knowing his rare night at the movies was in jeopardy, he decided to go after the cows himself, even though he had been warned many times never to do so.

As the seven-year-old urged his old horse, Banner, down into the cold, swift stream, the horse’s head barely cleared the water. An adult sitting on the horse would have been safe, but at Brother Barrus’s tender age, the current completely covered him except when the horse lunged forward several times, bringing Clyn’s head above water just enough to gasp for air.

Here I turn to Brother Barrus’s own words:

“When Banner finally climbed the other bank, I realized that my life had been in grave danger and that I had done a terrible thing—I had knowingly disobeyed my father. I felt that I could redeem myself only by bringing the cows home safely. Maybe then my father would forgive me. But it was already dusk, and I didn’t know for sure where I was. Despair overwhelmed me. I was wet and cold, lost and afraid.

“I climbed down from old Banner, fell to the ground by his feet, and began to cry. Between thick sobs, I tried to offer a prayer, repeating over and over to my Father in Heaven, ‘I’m sorry. Forgive me! I’m sorry. Forgive me!’

“I prayed for a long time. When I finally looked up, I saw through my tears a figure dressed in white walking toward me. In the dark, I felt certain it must be an angel sent in answer to my prayers. I did not move or make a sound as the figure approached, so overwhelmed was I by what I saw. Would the Lord really send an angel to me, who had been so disobedient?

“Then a familiar voice said, ‘Son, I’ve been looking for you.’ In the darkness I recognized the voice of my father and ran to his outstretched arms. He held me tightly, then said gently, ‘I was worried. I’m glad I found you.’

“I tried to tell him how sorry I was, but only disjointed words came out of my trembling lips—‘Thank you … darkness … afraid … river … alone.’ Later that night I learned that when I had not returned from the pasture, my father had come looking for me. When neither I nor the cows were to be found, he knew I had crossed the river and was in danger. Because it was dark and time was of the essence, he removed his clothes down to his long white thermal underwear, tied his shoes around his neck, and swam a treacherous river to rescue a wayward son.”12

I think it's important to recognize a couple of things here. First off, someone is always in need in some way. If we stay close to the Spirit, and have charity toward others, we can be there for them when they need us most. Second, as we lay aside convenience, we go against the grain to develop our sense of selfless service. But like any muscle, it takes difficulty and trial to become better. I hope the above story helps us see that it is so essential to do so. We are of the greatest service when we can help those who have hit their wit's end. But this doesn't come automatically. We will only ever be in the position to be of ultimate service until after we gain the trust of those we serve. Let us first be loving and trusting, so those we serve have an example to follow. Let us be the shoulder to cry on, the friend who understands, the home or visiting teacher who is in the right place at the right time.

Lastly, let us all understand that being an angel in the lives of others doesn't preclude us from receiving angels ourselves. We need to let others help us, and humbly accept when we have done "all that we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). It is my testimony that we have been placed around other people not just so that we can mingle. It is so we can help and be helped. Let us seek to do good:

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

Have a great week!