It's been years since I remember singing this hymn in church, but when I was growing up, we sang it quite often. It was while singing this hymn by Eliza R. Snow that I thought about the beam and the mote that Jesus teaches us about in Matthew 7:1-5 and it was while singing this hymn that I decided that I never wanted to worry about the mote in someone else's eye before paying attention to the beam in my own eye.
Be sure to sing the 4th and 5th verses, too!
(This song would be a good one for you teach your daughters how to sing alto because most of the alto part is a 6th or a 3rd away from the melody, so it is relatively easy to hear and sing.)
Don't underestimate the value of hymn singing with your family. Young children may not understand everything being sung about, but the words will sink deep into their hearts and be there when they need them as they grow in their understanding.
Come Follow Me Lesson Matthew 6-7: A good article with some good points to ponder or jump start your own inspiration/revelation
from Meridian, the online LDS magazine for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
https://ldsmag.com/come-follow-me-for-sunday-school-lesson-helps-for-matthew-6-7/
https://ldsmag.com/come-follow-me-for-sunday-school-lesson-helps-for-matthew-6-7/
This post goes along with the "Salt of the Earth" post. You're going to find both of them v-e-r-y interesting!
The Longest Waterfall On Earth
from an article by Ken Jennings, Jeopardy champion
Until you
see one, it’s hard to imagine the size and power of the world’s most impressive
waterfalls. Six million cubic feet of water—enough to fill more than sixty
Olympic-sized swimming pools—goes over Niagara Falls, between New York and
Canada, every minute. That’s enough to produce four million kilowatts of
electricity, enough to power half of Las Vegas on a hot summer night.
But what
if the world’s biggest waterfall wasn’t big and noisy and a fancy-pants
honeymoon resort? What if no one ever saw it, because it’s miles beneath the
North Atlantic Ocean?
Scientists have discovered a series of enormous
cataracts beneath the world’s oceans, most the result of temperature
differentials. Cold water is denser than hot water (its molecules are bouncing
around less, so they need less space), so it tends to sink. When cold-water
basins pour into slightly warmer ones, their water plunges straight down, just
like at Niagara—only slightly slower, much more quietly and almost invisibly,
since it all happens underwater.
The world’s biggest underwater waterfall is located in the Denmark
Strait between Greenland and Iceland. Arctic water from the Greenland Sea drops
precipitously into the depths of the (slightly less chilly) Irminger Sea.
The amazing thing about the Denmark Strait cataract is that it
dwarfs anything you’d see abovethe waves. Its water drops almost 11,500
feet, more than three times the height of Angel Falls in Venezuela, normally
considered Earth’s tallest waterfall. And the amount of water it carries is estimated
at 175 million cubic feet of water per second. That’s equivalent to almost two
thousand Niagaras at their peak flow.
Watch a fun video, then discuss : Daily Bread--Are We Partaking of the Daily Bread the Lord Has Already Given Us????
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-001-your-potential-your-privileges?lang=eng&_r=1
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf shares a humorous parable of a man who realizes he has been living far beneath his privileges.
Matthew records: Give us this day our daily bread... (Matt. 6:11)
Luke records it a little differently and his dissertation ends with a scripture that may give us a different idea about what these words mean: Give us day by day our daily bread...If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:3, 13)
I'm sure there are lots of things we could say the daily bread is, but the spiritual daily bread would certainly include the companionship, comfort, inspiration, revelation, guidance and direction of the Holy Ghost.
This is where the video clip comes in. As members of the church, our baptism and confirmation give us entrance into the Kingdom of God where we can enjoy an infinite number of privileges. The Lord paid the price for our ticket, so to speak, and offers us abundant blessings while in mortality, and even more in the next life. Here in mortality, almost all of the blessings come to us through the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Are we living up to our privileges? Do we realize we are on a spiritual cruise ship with wonderful blessings available to us everyday?
Watch the video with your family, then talk about the daily bread the Lord offers you everyday of your lives!
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf shares a humorous parable of a man who realizes he has been living far beneath his privileges.
Matthew records: Give us this day our daily bread... (Matt. 6:11)
Luke records it a little differently and his dissertation ends with a scripture that may give us a different idea about what these words mean: Give us day by day our daily bread...If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:3, 13)
I'm sure there are lots of things we could say the daily bread is, but the spiritual daily bread would certainly include the companionship, comfort, inspiration, revelation, guidance and direction of the Holy Ghost.
This is where the video clip comes in. As members of the church, our baptism and confirmation give us entrance into the Kingdom of God where we can enjoy an infinite number of privileges. The Lord paid the price for our ticket, so to speak, and offers us abundant blessings while in mortality, and even more in the next life. Here in mortality, almost all of the blessings come to us through the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Are we living up to our privileges? Do we realize we are on a spiritual cruise ship with wonderful blessings available to us everyday?
Watch the video with your family, then talk about the daily bread the Lord offers you everyday of your lives!
The Lord's Prayer--How It Helped Me Through The Hardest Thing That Had Ever Happened To Me
I hope I've told you this before, but if not, here is the story of how the Lord's Prayer changed my life forever:
It was the first day of August, 1964, the morning my mother passed away. She was only 44--Liesl's age now, until her birthday. Rebecca and Irene and Michelle will turn 44 this year. So you can see how young she was and how young our family was.
I was 17. I had just graduated from high school 2 months earlier. In another 4 or 5 weeks, I would be leaving our new home in Portland, Oregon to go to BYU as a freshman.
My brother Frosty was 16, my sister Becky was 13, Kathy was 10, Bryce was 6 years old and would start 1st grade in a month. My father was 45 years old. Now that I have sons and sons-in-law near that age, I appreciate much more just how young he was.
Our mother had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder where the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells. About five years earlier she and Dad had been told she had about five years to live. They did not tell us children that. I'm sure they did not want us to worry.
My mother had gone into the medical school hospital on the 5th of July for tests and perhaps some experimental treatments. While there, she contracted staph pneumonia because of her weakened immune system. One night Dad came home and told us her name had been put on the critical list. That was the first time we were aware she might die.
I remember gathering all the children around me and praying for her. Mothers don't die! She can't die, we need her! We prayed desperately and just knew our prayer had to be answered!
Not knowing how long Mother might be in the hospital, Dad decided to have Frosty, who could work with our cousins on our uncle's farm, and Kathy and Bryce stay with Uncle Frosty and Aunt Betty in Moses Lake. So now Becky and I were the only children at home.
One evening Dad took Becky to the hospital to visit Mother. I was at a Mother-Daughter Primary party with a girl whose mother couldn't attend, so I wasn't with them. Mother seemed to be doing better that night and they had a good visit. Before they left, Mother asked Becky to sing Lead Me Into Life Eternal. Afterwards, Becky was sad because she didn't know the words very well.
About 5:00 the next morning, Dad shook me awake. "The hospital just called. They said that if we want to see your mother again, we had better come now."
"Whaaat?" I rubbed my eyes and tried to comprehend what he had just said.
"Hurry and get dressed. I'll take you up to the hospital."
When we got to her room, Mother was unconscious. I looked at her, not wanting to comprehend what I was seeing. "Give her another blessing," I pleaded.
Dad just shook his head. "No, Honey. We have given her many blessings. It's up to the Lord now."
I walked down the hallways and out to car silently, but inside I was fuming! Why wouldn't Dad give her another blessing?! She couldn't die! She just couldn't!
Dad dropped me off at the house and said he had some errands to run. I ran into the living room and searched our bookcase for his priesthood manual. Surely there was something in it that would convince him that he should give Mother another blessing!
What I found was a scripture that surprised me. It was D&C 42:44: And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon [the sick] in my name; and if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.
Now I understood that sometimes it might be the Lord's will that a person should die, even after they had a blessing. I felt at peace with my father's answer, that it was in the Lord's hands.
Becky and I had agreed to play at a baptism that morning. This would be our first time to play a special musical number in a church meeting since we had moved to Portland at the beginning of June. Becky would accompany me while I played the violin. It may seem strange, but I don't remember even considering the possibility of not playing that morning. I suppose we just couldn't bring ourselves to understand how critical our mother's condition was.
We were pretty excited about how well our performance had gone and I remember that when we got home we were laughing as we opened the screen door into the kitchen. As the screen door slammed behind us, we suddenly noticed our Aunt Betty's sister Mary standing in the dining room next to Father. One look told us all we needed to know. "The hospital just called," Dad said quietly, "Your mother just passed away."
The world seemed to stop. An overwhelming sadness engulfed me. Becky ran upstairs to her room. I just stood there, my feet frozen to the floor.
The rest of the morning passed by like a dream. People kept coming to the door to offer their condolences. It seemed like everyone brought some food with them, and almost everyone brought a potato salad. Soon our refrigerator was full of an impossible number of potato salads!
Finally the doorbell stopped ringing. Mary left. Dad left. Becky went back up to her bedroom. I finished washing the dishes that were in the sink. Finally the tears came and I couldn't stop them. They just came and came from somewhere deep inside me. I cried until I could cry no more.
Now what?
I wandered into the dining room. Our record player caught my eye. Music. It would be good to listen to some music. I leafed through our collection of 78 rpm's looking for our recording of the Tabernacle Choir. There it was. "The Lord's Prayer." I slipped the record out of its sleeve and put it on the turntable, careful to hold the record by its outer edges. I turned the switch on and the arm moved automatically to place the needle in the outer groove of the record.
The strains of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra filled the room. Then the choir began to sing: Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven...
I didn't hear anymore. The words Thy will be done in earth sank deep into my heart. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Thy will be done in earth...Yes. Yes, I could accept that. If it was the Lord's will for Mother to die, then I could accept that. If it was His will, then surely everything would be okay. He would take care of us. We would be okay. Yes. I could say that. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
A feeling of peace and assurance entered my heart.
I was still sad. I still missed her. Tears still welled up from somewhere deep inside of me and spilled out sometimes when I least expected it, but I felt at peace. I didn't fight it. I didn't despair. I felt watched over, loved, cared for.
It would be okay.
And because I believed, because I could accept His will over mine, I could go forward with my life. I didn't ever question why. I didn't ever fear for the future. I lived with peace in my heart and faith in my soul.
That day I found out that God knew me and loved me. That day I felt Him touch my heart. And that touch changed my life forever. The hardest thing that could ever happen to me brought the greatest blessing I could ever be given.
It was the first day of August, 1964, the morning my mother passed away. She was only 44--Liesl's age now, until her birthday. Rebecca and Irene and Michelle will turn 44 this year. So you can see how young she was and how young our family was.
I was 17. I had just graduated from high school 2 months earlier. In another 4 or 5 weeks, I would be leaving our new home in Portland, Oregon to go to BYU as a freshman.
My brother Frosty was 16, my sister Becky was 13, Kathy was 10, Bryce was 6 years old and would start 1st grade in a month. My father was 45 years old. Now that I have sons and sons-in-law near that age, I appreciate much more just how young he was.
Our mother had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder where the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells. About five years earlier she and Dad had been told she had about five years to live. They did not tell us children that. I'm sure they did not want us to worry.
My mother had gone into the medical school hospital on the 5th of July for tests and perhaps some experimental treatments. While there, she contracted staph pneumonia because of her weakened immune system. One night Dad came home and told us her name had been put on the critical list. That was the first time we were aware she might die.
I remember gathering all the children around me and praying for her. Mothers don't die! She can't die, we need her! We prayed desperately and just knew our prayer had to be answered!
Not knowing how long Mother might be in the hospital, Dad decided to have Frosty, who could work with our cousins on our uncle's farm, and Kathy and Bryce stay with Uncle Frosty and Aunt Betty in Moses Lake. So now Becky and I were the only children at home.
One evening Dad took Becky to the hospital to visit Mother. I was at a Mother-Daughter Primary party with a girl whose mother couldn't attend, so I wasn't with them. Mother seemed to be doing better that night and they had a good visit. Before they left, Mother asked Becky to sing Lead Me Into Life Eternal. Afterwards, Becky was sad because she didn't know the words very well.
About 5:00 the next morning, Dad shook me awake. "The hospital just called. They said that if we want to see your mother again, we had better come now."
"Whaaat?" I rubbed my eyes and tried to comprehend what he had just said.
"Hurry and get dressed. I'll take you up to the hospital."
When we got to her room, Mother was unconscious. I looked at her, not wanting to comprehend what I was seeing. "Give her another blessing," I pleaded.
Dad just shook his head. "No, Honey. We have given her many blessings. It's up to the Lord now."
I walked down the hallways and out to car silently, but inside I was fuming! Why wouldn't Dad give her another blessing?! She couldn't die! She just couldn't!
Dad dropped me off at the house and said he had some errands to run. I ran into the living room and searched our bookcase for his priesthood manual. Surely there was something in it that would convince him that he should give Mother another blessing!
What I found was a scripture that surprised me. It was D&C 42:44: And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon [the sick] in my name; and if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.
Now I understood that sometimes it might be the Lord's will that a person should die, even after they had a blessing. I felt at peace with my father's answer, that it was in the Lord's hands.
Becky and I had agreed to play at a baptism that morning. This would be our first time to play a special musical number in a church meeting since we had moved to Portland at the beginning of June. Becky would accompany me while I played the violin. It may seem strange, but I don't remember even considering the possibility of not playing that morning. I suppose we just couldn't bring ourselves to understand how critical our mother's condition was.
We were pretty excited about how well our performance had gone and I remember that when we got home we were laughing as we opened the screen door into the kitchen. As the screen door slammed behind us, we suddenly noticed our Aunt Betty's sister Mary standing in the dining room next to Father. One look told us all we needed to know. "The hospital just called," Dad said quietly, "Your mother just passed away."
The world seemed to stop. An overwhelming sadness engulfed me. Becky ran upstairs to her room. I just stood there, my feet frozen to the floor.
The rest of the morning passed by like a dream. People kept coming to the door to offer their condolences. It seemed like everyone brought some food with them, and almost everyone brought a potato salad. Soon our refrigerator was full of an impossible number of potato salads!
Finally the doorbell stopped ringing. Mary left. Dad left. Becky went back up to her bedroom. I finished washing the dishes that were in the sink. Finally the tears came and I couldn't stop them. They just came and came from somewhere deep inside me. I cried until I could cry no more.
Now what?
I wandered into the dining room. Our record player caught my eye. Music. It would be good to listen to some music. I leafed through our collection of 78 rpm's looking for our recording of the Tabernacle Choir. There it was. "The Lord's Prayer." I slipped the record out of its sleeve and put it on the turntable, careful to hold the record by its outer edges. I turned the switch on and the arm moved automatically to place the needle in the outer groove of the record.
The strains of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra filled the room. Then the choir began to sing: Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven...
I didn't hear anymore. The words Thy will be done in earth sank deep into my heart. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Thy will be done in earth...Yes. Yes, I could accept that. If it was the Lord's will for Mother to die, then I could accept that. If it was His will, then surely everything would be okay. He would take care of us. We would be okay. Yes. I could say that. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
A feeling of peace and assurance entered my heart.
I was still sad. I still missed her. Tears still welled up from somewhere deep inside of me and spilled out sometimes when I least expected it, but I felt at peace. I didn't fight it. I didn't despair. I felt watched over, loved, cared for.
It would be okay.
And because I believed, because I could accept His will over mine, I could go forward with my life. I didn't ever question why. I didn't ever fear for the future. I lived with peace in my heart and faith in my soul.
That day I found out that God knew me and loved me. That day I felt Him touch my heart. And that touch changed my life forever. The hardest thing that could ever happen to me brought the greatest blessing I could ever be given.
Matthew 6 & 7 I love these scriptures!
Why? Because I heard them when I was a child.
When I was 9 years old, all the children in my Primary class were given their own copy of the New Testament. I don't remember if we read these chapters in Primary or at home, but I grew to love them. Did I understand them? Not everything, certainly, but many things I began to understand. More importantly, as I became familiar with them, I began to love them. And to love the Spirit I felt when I heard/read them.
(Oops! When I read the Ideas for Family Scripture Study and FHE on page 36, I found they had the same idea as what I wrote in the next paragraphs, but they have two cool videos for you to use to do it! I just watched the videos and they are really good. Short, but you could take a long time watching them if you stopped after each section, as suggested, and talk about what Jesus just said...)
These chapters can be divided up into at least 11 parts--in fact, they already are divided up into 11 parts by those little paragraph signs you see before some of the verses.
I would encourage you to consider reading and discussing 1 or 2 sections everyday. Don't worry about studying them ahead of time. Just read them together and talk about them with your family. Each contains gems that family members will remember all their lives:
Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;
Pray to thy Father which is in secret;
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name;
Give us this day our daily bread
For if ye forgive men their trespasses;
Thy Father shall reward thee openly;
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth;
Consider the lilies of the field;
Judge not that ye be not judged;
Neither cast ye your pearls before swine;
Ask, and ye shall receive;
Enter ye in at the strait gate;
By their fruits ye shall know them;
I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock...
When I was 9 years old, all the children in my Primary class were given their own copy of the New Testament. I don't remember if we read these chapters in Primary or at home, but I grew to love them. Did I understand them? Not everything, certainly, but many things I began to understand. More importantly, as I became familiar with them, I began to love them. And to love the Spirit I felt when I heard/read them.
(Oops! When I read the Ideas for Family Scripture Study and FHE on page 36, I found they had the same idea as what I wrote in the next paragraphs, but they have two cool videos for you to use to do it! I just watched the videos and they are really good. Short, but you could take a long time watching them if you stopped after each section, as suggested, and talk about what Jesus just said...)
These chapters can be divided up into at least 11 parts--in fact, they already are divided up into 11 parts by those little paragraph signs you see before some of the verses.
I would encourage you to consider reading and discussing 1 or 2 sections everyday. Don't worry about studying them ahead of time. Just read them together and talk about them with your family. Each contains gems that family members will remember all their lives:
Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;
Pray to thy Father which is in secret;
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name;
Give us this day our daily bread
For if ye forgive men their trespasses;
Thy Father shall reward thee openly;
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth;
Consider the lilies of the field;
Judge not that ye be not judged;
Neither cast ye your pearls before swine;
Ask, and ye shall receive;
Enter ye in at the strait gate;
By their fruits ye shall know them;
I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock...
Matthew 7:13 Enter Ye In At the Strait Gate--Finding the Pathway To Home--A video link
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2019-01-0010-migration-a-yearning-for-home?lang=eng
You could talk about the "strait and narrow path" being the covenant path that will take you home to Heavenly Father. The link above is Elder Uchtdorf talking about how animals migrate, some of them for thousands of miles, and asking "How do they know the way?", and comparing it to humans having the Light of Christ to help them return home.
You could talk about the "strait and narrow path" being the covenant path that will take you home to Heavenly Father. The link above is Elder Uchtdorf talking about how animals migrate, some of them for thousands of miles, and asking "How do they know the way?", and comparing it to humans having the Light of Christ to help them return home.
That the Salt May NOT Lose Its Savor
Here is an important speech that addresses the problems that often cause the Saints to "lose their savor." I would encourage all of you to read it, then share it with your children in an age appropriate way.
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lawrence-corbridge_stand-for-ever/
Stand Forever
LAWRENCE CORBRIDGEof the SeventyJan. 22, 2019 • Devotional
As part of an assignment I had as a General Authority a few years ago, I needed to read through a great deal of material antagonistic to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the events of the Restoration. There may not be anything out there of that nature I haven’t read. Since that assignment changed, I have not returned to wallow in that mire again.
Reading that material always left me with a feeling of gloom, and one day that sense of darkness inspired me to write a partial response to all such antagonistic claims. I would like to share with you some of the thoughts I recorded that day, and although what I wrote was for my benefit, I hope it will help you as well.
I wanted to give a different talk today. I wrote other talks more entertaining, with more stories—more engaging than this one—but each time I wrote a new talk, I was directed back to this one.
Will You Stand Forever?
The prophet Daniel said that in the last days
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.1
The kingdom of God is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will “stand for ever.”
The question is, Will you and I stand? Will you stand forever, or will you go away? And if you go, where will you go?
Deception Is a Sign of Our Time
When the Lord described the signs of His coming and the end of the world, when He described our day, He mentioned many things, including wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and many other signs, including this one:
For in those days [this day] there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant.2
I am not sure of all that is implied by the qualification “if possible, they shall deceive the very elect,” but I think it means, at least, that everyone will be challenged in our day.
Paul said, “We see through a glass, darkly.”3 Similarly, one of the most prominent features of the vision of the tree of life is a “great mist of darkness [in which] they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.”4
The Broad Spectrum of Deception
There are many who deceive, and the spectrum of deception is broad. At one end we meet those who attack the Restoration, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. Next we see those who believe in the Restoration but claim the Church is deficient and has gone astray. There are others who also claim to believe in the Restoration but are disillusioned with doctrine that conflicts with the shifting attitudes of our day. There are some who, without authority, lay claim to visions, dreams, and visitations to right the ship, guide us to a higher path, or prepare the Church for the end of the world. Others are deceived by false spirits.
At the far end of the spectrum we come to an entire universe of distractions. Never has there been more information, misinformation, and disinformation; more goods, gadgets, and games; and more options, places to go, and things to see and do to occupy time and attention away from what is most important. And all of that and much more is disseminated instantaneously throughout the world by electronic media. This is a day of deception.
Knowledge
Truth enables us to see clearly because it is the “knowledge of things as they [really] are, and as they were, and as they are to come.”5 Knowledge is crucial to avoid deception, to discern between truth and error, and to see clearly and chart a course through the hazards of our day.
The Prophet Joseph Smith said:
Knowledge is necessary to life and godliness. . . . Knowledge is revelation. Hear, all ye brethren, this grand key: knowledge is the power of God unto salvation.6
People say, “You should be true to your beliefs.” While that is true, you cannot be better than what you know. Most of us act based on our beliefs, especially what we believe to be in our self-interest. The problem is, we are sometimes wrong.
Someone may believe in God and that pornography is wrong and yet still click on a site wrongly believing that he will be happier if he does or he can’t help but not click or it isn’t hurting anyone else and it is not that bad. He is just wrong.
Someone may believe it is wrong to lie and yet lie on occasion, wrongly believing he will be better off if the truth is not known. He is just wrong.
Someone may believe and even know that Jesus is the Christ and still deny Him not once but three times because of the mistaken belief that he would be better off appeasing the crowd. Peter wasn’t evil. I am not even sure he was weak. He was just wrong.
When you act badly, you may think you are bad, when in truth you are usually mistaken. You are just wrong. The challenge is not so much closing the gap between our actions and our beliefs; rather, the challenge is closing the gap between our beliefs and the truth. That is the challenge.
So how do we close that gap? How do we avoid deception?
Primary Questions and Secondary Questions
Begin by answering the primary questions. There are primary questions and there are secondary questions. Answer the primary questions first. Not all questions are equal and not all truths are equal. The primary questions are the most important. Everything else is subordinate. There are only a few primary questions. I will mention four of them.
1. Is there a God who is our Father?
2. Is Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Savior of the world?
3. Was Joseph Smith a prophet?
4. Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the kingdom of God on the earth?
By contrast, the secondary questions are unending. They include questions about Church history, polygamy, people of African descent and the priesthood, women and the priesthood, how the Book of Mormon was translated, the Pearl of Great Price, DNA and the Book of Mormon, gay marriage, the different accounts of the First Vision, and on and on.
If you answer the primary questions, the secondary questions get answered too, or they pale in significance and you can deal with things you understand and things you don’t and things you agree with and things you don’t without jumping ship altogether.
Different Ways of Learning
How can we know the answers? There are different methods of learning, including the scientific, analytical, academic, and divine methods. The divine method of learning incorporates elements of the other three but ultimately trumps everything else by tapping into the powers of heaven. All four methods are necessary to know the truth. They all begin the same way: with a question. Questions are important, especially the primary questions.
The Scientific Method
With the scientific method, a hypothesis is framed in response to a question. Experimentation is then conducted to test the hypothesis. The results are then analyzed, and conclusions are drawn that either confirm, disprove, or modify the hypothesis—in which event the process continues. Alma invited us to “experiment upon [his] words.”7 The Lord said:
My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.8
In regard to tithing, the Lord also said, “Prove me now herewith . . . if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”9
Truth can be discovered by doing, which is faith. Experience plays a vital role in coming to know the truth.
The Analytical Method
The analytical method is also important. It involves gathering, organizing, and weighing evidence relevant to a question. Based on the weight of the evidence, conclusions are drawn as to what the truth may be. The Lord instructed Oliver Cowdery, saying:
Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right.10
Evidence and reason also play a role in preparing us to know the truth.
The Academic Method
The academic method involves, of course, study of the written word. Study as well is essential. Mormon said that the word of God has a “more powerful effect upon the minds of the people [how we think] than the sword [which might be the fear or threat of death], or anything else.”11 The word of God is more powerful than anything. It is more powerful than fear, addiction, pornography, or anything else. It stands to reason, therefore, that the Lord would say, “Treasure up in your minds continually the words of life.”12 He also said, “And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived.”13
The Divine Method
The divine method of learning incorporates the elements of the other methodologies but ultimately trumps everything else by tapping into the powers of heaven. Ultimately the things of God are made known by the Spirit of God, which is usually a still, small voice. The Lord said, “God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost.”14
The apostle Paul taught that men only know the things of men and that the things of God are known by no man except through the Spirit of God.15 He said, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him.” We see that every day. Paul continued: “Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”16
Of all the problems you encounter in this life, there is one that towers above them all and is the least understood. The worst of all human conditions in this life is not poverty, sickness, loneliness, abuse, or war—as awful as those conditions are. The worst of all human conditions is the most common: it is to die. It is to die spiritually. It is to be separated from the presence of God, and in this life, His presence is His Spirit or power. That is the worst.
Conversely, the best of all human conditions in this life is not wealth, fame, prestige, good health, the honors of men, security, or even—dare I say it—good grades. As wonderful as some of those things are, the best of all human conditions is to be endowed with heavenly power; it is to be born again, to have the gift and companionship of the Holy Ghost, which is the source of knowledge, revelation, strength, clarity, love, joy, peace, hope, confidence, faith, and almost every other good thing. Jesus said, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, . . . shall teach you all things.”17 It is the power by which we “may know the truth of all things.”18 “It will show . . . [us] all things . . . [we] should do.”19 It is the fountain of “living water” that springs up unto eternal life.20
Although the voice of the Spirit is usually a still, small voice, it is nevertheless ever sure, penetrating, pervasive, edifying, and sustaining—so much so that the Lord said:
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.21
Pay whatever price you must pay, bear whatever burden you must bear, and make whatever sacrifice you must make to get and keep in your life the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in your life. Everything depends on that.
“That Which Doth Not Edify”
So what was the gloom I felt several years ago while reading antagonistic material? Some would say that gloom is the product of belief bias, which is the propensity to pick and choose only those things that accord with our assumptions and beliefs. The thought that everything one has believed and been taught may be wrong, particularly with nothing better to take its place, is a gloomy and disturbing thought indeed. But the gloom I experienced as I listened to the dark choir of voices raised against the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ—the gloom that came as I waded, chest deep, through the swamp of the secondary questions—is different. That gloom is not belief bias and it is not the fear of being in error. It is the absence of the Spirit of God. That is what it is. It is the condition of man when “left unto himself.”22 It is the gloom of darkness and the “stupor of thought.”23
The Lord said:
And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.
That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.24
Revelation from the Spirit of God supersedes belief bias because it is not premised only on evidence. I have spent a lifetime seeking to hear the word of the Lord and learning to recognize and follow the Spirit of God, and the spirit associated with the dark voices that assail the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the Restoration is not the spirit of light, intelligence, and truth. The Spirit of God is not in those voices. I don’t know much, but I do know the voice of the Lord, and His voice is not in that dark choir, not at all in that choir.
In stark contrast to the gloom and sickening stupor of thought that pervades the swamp of doubt is the spirit of light, intelligence, peace, and truth that attends the events and the glorious doctrine of the Restoration, especially the scriptures revealed to the world through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Just read them and ask yourself and ask God if they are the words of lies, deceit, delusion, or truth.
You Can’t Learn the Truth by Elimination
There are some who are afraid the Church may not be true and who spend their time and attention slogging through the swamp of the secondary questions. They mistakenly try to learn the truth by process of elimination, by attempting to eliminate every doubt. That is always a bad idea. It will never work. That approach only works in the game of Clue.
Life, however, is not nearly as simple. There are unlimited claims and opinions leveled against the truth. Each time you track down an answer to any one antagonistic claim and look up, there is another one staring you in the face. I am not saying you should put your head in the sand, but I am saying you can spend a lifetime desperately tracking down the answer to every claim leveled against the Church and never come to a knowledge of the most important truths.
Answers to the primary questions do not come by answering the secondary questions. There are answers to the secondary questions, but you cannot prove a positive by disproving every negative. You cannot prove the Church is true by disproving every claim made against it. That will never work. It is a flawed strategy. Ultimately there has to be affirmative proof, and with the things of God, affirmative proof finally and surely comes by revelation through the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.
To His disciples, Jesus asked:
Whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
. . . Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.25
The Church of Jesus Christ is grounded on the rock of revelation, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We are the Church. You and I are the Church. We must be grounded on the rock of revelation, and although we may not know the answer to every question, we must know the answers to the primary questions. And if we do, the gates of hell shall not prevail against us and we will stand forever.
Believe “with God All Things Are Possible”
Finally, believe. Believe “with God all things are possible.”26 We may all be taken back from time to time by the extraordinary—such as walking on water, multiplying bread and fish, raising the dead, translating gold plates with special lenses or a stone and hat, and the visitation of angels. Some people are hard-pressed to believe extraordinary things. While it is understandable that we may be challenged by the extraordinary, we shouldn’t be, because ordinary things are actually far more phenomenal.
The most phenomenal occurrences of all time and eternity—the most amazing wonders, the most astounding, awesome developments—are the most common and widely recognized. They include: I am; you are; we are; and all that we perceive exists as well, from subatomic particles to the farthest reaches of the cosmos and everything in between, including all of the wonders of life. Is there anything greater than those ordinary realities? No. Nothing else even comes close. You can’t begin to imagine, much less describe, anything greater than what already is.
In light of what is, nothing else should surprise us. It should be easy to believe that with God all things are possible.
The healing of the withered hand is not nearly as amazing as the existence of the hand in the first place. If it exists, it follows that it can certainly be fixed when it is broken. The greater event is not in its healing but in its creation.
More phenomenal than resurrection is birth. The greater wonder is not that life, having once existed, could come again but that it ever exists at all.
More amazing than raising the dead is that we live at all. A silent heart that beats again is not nearly as amazing as the heart that beats within your breast right now.
That one could see on a stone or through a special lens the modern translation of ancient text written on plates of gold is far less amazing than the human eye. The wonder is not what the human eye may see, rather, that it sees anything at all.
How can you believe in extraordinary things such as angels and gold plates and your divine potential? Easy, just look around and believe.
I don’t know if pigs will ever sprout wings and fly, but if they do, flying pigs will never be nearly as amazing as the ordinary pig in the first place.
Doubts and Questions
I heard someone say recently, “It is okay to have doubts.”
I wonder about that. The Lord said, “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”27 I have a lot of questions; I don’t have any doubts.
Conclusion
There is a God in heaven who is our Eternal Father. I know this by my experience—all of my experience. I know this by the evidence, and the evidence is overwhelming. I know it by study, and, most surely, I know it by the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. I know this by my experience—all of it. I know this by the evidence, and the evidence is overwhelming. I know it by study, and, most surely, I know it by the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who laid the foundation for the restoration of the kingdom of God. I know this by my experience—all of my experience. I know this by the evidence, and the evidence is overwhelming. I know it by study, and, most surely, I know it by the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on the earth. I know this by my experience—all of it. I know this by the evidence, and the evidence is overwhelming. I know it by study, and, most surely, I know it by the Spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.
And with that I know everything I need to know to stand forever.
May we stand on the rock of revelation, particularly in regard to the primary questions. If we do, we will stand forever and never go away. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Lawrence Corbridgeidge, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered this devotional on January 22, 2019.© by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.1. Daniel 2:44.
2. JS—Matthew 1:22; see also Matthew 24:24.
4. 1 Nephi 8:23.
5. D&C 93:24.
6. Joseph Smith, Nauvoo, Illinois, in “Discourse, 21 May 1843, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray,” Notebook, 40, Joseph Smith Papers Project, josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse-21-may-1843-as-reported-by-martha-jane-knowlton-coray/5; emphasis added.
7. Alma 32:27.
8. John 7:16–17.
9. Malachi 3:10.
10. D&C 9:7–8.
11. Alma 31:5.
12. D&C 84:85.
13. JS—Matthew 1:37.
14. D&C 121:26.
15. See 1 Corinthians 2:9–11; see also JST, 1 Corinthians 2:11.
16. 1 Corinthians 2:14.
17. John 14:26.
18. Moroni 10:5.
19. 2 Nephi 32:5.
20. John 7:38; see also verse 37.
21. Matthew 12:32.
22. D&C 121:38.
23. D&C 9:9; see also verse 8.
24. D&C 50:23–24.
25. Matthew 16:15–18; see also verses 13–14.
26. Matthew 19:26; see also Luke 1:37.
27. D&C 6:36.
Salt of the Earth, Some Surprising Facts!
I remember teaching Primary lessons
about how Jesus said we should be the salt of the earth. It was suggested that we bake some cookies
for the class, but leave out the salt, so the children would see how important
salt was for good tasting food.
This morning it occurred to me that if
Christ said he wanted us to be the salt of the earth, perhaps salt is far more
important in our lives than just making things palatable. I googled salt and, surprise, surprise, it
turns out that salt is vital to life on earth—not necessarily the salt in our
shakers, but the salt in our bodies and in the ocean!
Salt water is literally the most common substance on
the surface of Earth, and it’s really important – for life and for the planet.
1. Salt water carries the electrical
signals that make life possible
Salt
water is made when a solid salt, such as table salt (sodium chloride), is added
to water and breaks apart into individual freely moving particles called ions…
These
ions act just like a balloon that’s been rubbed against your hair. They carry
an electrical charge, and allow salt
water to conduct electricity.
Your body uses salt
water to send the electrical signals that cause your heart to beat and your
brain to think.
2. Salt water acts as a conveyor belt
to carry heat around the planet
Europe
and North America are kept warm by the Gulf Stream, a massive current of warm
water flowing north from the tropics.
This
current is driven by changes in the saltiness of ocean water. As the polar ice
caps freeze in winter, the surrounding ocean water becomes saltier. Saltier
water is heavier and so it sinks to the sea floor, stirring the ocean and
driving these currents.
This [affects] the flow of heat and nutrients around the
world in complex ways.
3. Salt water…suck[s] carbon dioxide
out of the air
[The
ocean extracts carbon dioxide(CO₂) from the air and stores it on a huge scale],
removing more than a quarter of
all the CO₂ that humans put into the air.
https://theconversation.com/vital-for-life-heat-and-power-what-you-never-knew-about-salt-water-102764 (This site has an interesting short animated video
that explains the role of salt in the ocean currents)
Salt
is also a preserving agent: As a matter of fact the main use for salt in a long term
survival situation will be in preserving foods. If you are salting, smoking,
canning, pickling or making jerky you will need salt. http://www.preparingtosurvive.com/salt.html
Salt water performs life-giving functions, both
for the body and for the earth itself.
Without salt water, bodies could not function. Without salt water, the earth could not
sustain life.
How can
we be the salt of the earth? The Lord
told Abraham, …In thee (that is, in thy
Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood)…shall all the families of
the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the
blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2:11)
He also promises Abraham, …[Thy seed] shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations.
We can be the salt of the earth when, with the
living water of Jesus Christ, we carry the pure restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
with the authority of the Priesthood of God to all the world, giving the world
spiritual life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has the life
giving, purifying and preserving qualities of the Atonement to offer
immortality and eternal life to all souls.
Salt that has lost its savor would be religion
that contains impurities—false doctrines and unauthorized practices. This would be good for nothing, for it would
not be able to deliver salvation or exaltation, so must be cast out.
BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT What is the "therefore" there for?
My
brother Frosty remembered Grandpa Lybbert’s question—What is the therefore there for?—so I skipped ahead
to see if it was in the booklet. Sure
enough, there is was at the bottom of page 27 at the end of the section
entitled The Salt of the Earth.
I’ll
give his answer after catching us up on some of his thoughts leading up to that
question.
Grandpa
Lybbert on the Salt of the earth:
For
the saints who would be molded by adherence to the beatitudes, Jesus had in
mind a great work, a work he fully expected his followers to do.
Thus
superbly prepared, the members of the kingdom are ready to assume the
responsibility to be the salt of the earth.
The
salt of the earth are those who give flavor, meaning and direction to life, the
ones who are devoted to the important things of life…
Ye are the light
of the world:
What
a powerful influence example can be! I’d
rather see a sermon than to hear one anytime.
I am come not to
destroy, but to fulfill; Whosoever is angry with his brother; Whosoever looketh
on a woman; If thy right eye offend thee; Yea, yea; Nay, nay; Smite thee on the right cheek; Go with him
twain; Love your enemies…
He
wanted to change us from keepers of commandments to lovers of God…
Control
our thoughts! Control our
attitudes! That’s the way to control
conduct, by being sure our thoughts are right and not going through life with a
“thou fool” attitude toward our fellowmen.
If
we are truly living the standards our Saviour set forth in this beautiful sermon,
we haven’t time for evil or cheap thoughts.
Our lives will be full of deeds that will make the world a better place
to live.
Yes
is yes, and no is no. Let your word be
as good as your bond.
What
a delightful world this would be if it were full of people…who were always
willing to go the second mile.
…When
we make the generous exchange of love for hate, just as water will quench a
destructive flame, so will love extinguish the devastating fire of hate.
Be
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect:
What is the “therefore” there for? Jesus was well aware that anyone who would
live up to the teachings of this sermon would be a perfect individual…The “therefore”
in the context of this great sermon means “inevitably, logically, automatically—the
natural result of following these precepts.”…In other words, perfection
consists in living “The Sermon on the Mount.”
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