Post 101: Turning Our Hearts

I am happy to announce that this is officially the 101st post on this blog! Exciting, I know. To celebrate, I've decided to title this post "Turning Our Hearts" as an encapsulation of one of the great purposes of our existence. Let's start in 2 Nephi:

“And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might have gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;

“…Awake my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust."

2 Nephi 1: 22, 24 (emphasis added)

The Prophet Lehi here talks about a piece of what it means to be a true man, being "united in all things." We know from the scriptures that unity is equated with godliness, and that through unity we may become worthy to be claimed by the Savior (see D & C 38:21, among others).

Quite possibly the most important type of unity comes through turning our hearts to generations past, present, and future, through often diverse efforts. For those in the present, we improve our links through family prayer and scripture study, activities, projects, and other often grueling efforts [just ask Barack Obama what it's like to unify a people!]. For our sons and daughters yet to come, the best way to link ourselves to them is through building a foundation of righteousness, which in my opinion involves a scrupulous inward look at character flaws, and effectively turning our hearts over to the Savior in love and hope that we may be cleansed in time. For our ancestors, we must needs develop the Spirit of Elijah, taking advantage of the sealing power given to and subsequently delegated by a prophet of God. Near the end of the Old Testament we read:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. --Malachi 4: 5-6

This "turning" of which Malachi prophesies happens in the temples of God, where the sealing power may be used to perform sacred ordinances for those who've passed on without having received them. The prophet Joseph Smith shed some light on this scripture:

“…It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other…For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect…for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fullness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time.” --D& C 128: 18

This welding between the fathers and children across all generations of time is achieved only through the active use of the sealing power, that is, the power of the Priesthood to perform vicarious ordinances for those who have passed on without having received the opportunity to accept these ordinances in mortality. These vicarious ordinances are realized only in the holy temples, sacred house of God set apart for this purpose.

No one understood the importance of welding together generations in this vein than father Lehi, who in a parting blessing to his son, Joseph, gave what in my opinion is one of the most poetic passages in the Book of Mormon. In this blessing (found in 2 Nephi 3) Lehi compares Joseph of Egypt to his son, who also was a righteous youth who received harsh treatment from his older brothers. Lehi then quotes Joseph of Egypt, who prophesied of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon by the hand of Joseph Smith, who would be a great prophet "like unto Moses."

I testify that Joseph Smith was and is a great prophet of God, and that by and through him the fullness of the Everlasting Gospel was restored. It is through that Restoration that we know of the welding work that we must perform while here on the earth, striving to turn our hearts for generations to come. Let us all work to be a little more like the Savior, doing for others what they cannot do for themselves, being a healing influence in the lives of all whom we meet.

Have a great week!