Pancakes

Yesterday we made pancakes. Pancakes are amazing and beautiful, but there is a certain way that pancakes must be done to reach their full potential. They have to be cooked on fairly high heat with some butter on the grill so they get those nice crisp edges and the slightly mottled texture on the top and bottom. They must also be eaten as soon as they are off the griddle and still warm enough to melt the butter you put on top. This is the pinnacle of breakfast perfection. It also takes a lot of skill and a decent amount of speed on the part of the cook. In this case, that cook turned out to be me. I noticed something a little frustrating as I cooked them though. As soon as I would get one on my plate, with the syrup and such all ready, it would be time to flip the next one and then it would be done, and would go on my companion's plate, and my first one would still be uneaten. On the other hand, my companion ended up with perfect timing, and as soon as he finished one, the next was ready for him. In some way or another, perhaps as a side effect of being a missionary, this got me thinking about the gospel. My thought was this- I couldn't make the pancakes very well for myself, but I could make them pretty good for my companion. Likewise, he could make them for me, no problem. But when either of us tried to do it for our self, it wasn't as good. I think service and the Priesthood work a lot the same way. They have to be selfless, then they work great. When we try to do everything ourselves and shut others out, we miss out. At the same time, when we give of ourselves, we can do for others what they can't do for themselves. With the Priesthood, we can't give ourselves blessings or do ordinances for ourselves, but we can for others. Just like making the pancakes, we serve others and others serve us, then we get the blessings of our service, which are usually just as good as pancakes.

Repentance and a New Truck

So something pretty cool happened this week. We got a nice new Chevy Colorado on Tuesday. Our vehicle before that, a Dodge Caliber, was one of the older cars in the mission and was starting to show it's age. We already had taken it to the garage several times to fix a lot of issues, but it always had something else come back up. Then last Monday we got a got a call from the Assistants telling us that we would be getting their truck, so we needed to get the Caliber cleaned up and ready to sell. With the promise of the nice new truck on the horizon, it was easy to find the motivation to meticulously vacuum and wash and wipe everything in the car. We did everything we could to get it perfect, but some of the bigger  issues were beyond what we could do. I was able to put new brake pads on, but the brake rotors and most of the suspension on one of the wheels needed professional help. Nevertheless, we did all that we could, then handed it over to the Assistants and got the keys to the bright white Colorado. It was such a relief driving home that we didn't have strange noises coming from the engine, the wheels weren't pulling to the left side anymore, and the unmistakable new car smell was pretty nice too. 

All this got me thinking a little about repentance and the process it takes to gain forgiveness. None of us is without our flaws, and we can do a lot to change ourselves, but ultimately we can't be made perfectly clean without the Savior. Some things we just can't fix on our own. But at the same time, we need to do what we can and then let the Lord take care of the rest. Even though we couldn't replace the tie rods and ball joints on the old car, we could get it clean before we turned it in. In life, we can't get rid of our sins on our own, but we can make restitution for them and try to make up for what we've done, then turn it over to the Savior. Then he can not only fix us, but we will be better for it then we ever were before. We got more than a fixed version of our car when we turned it in we got a lot more. When the Lord invited us to repent He can turn us into more then a fixed version of ourselves. We can be what he wants us to be.

Black Clouds and Silver Linings

One of the many things I have to be grateful to my parents for is all the effort they have expended trying to get me to have a positive attitude about well, everything. Seeing the good in a situation is sometimes pretty hard. A lot of times it takes a look back on the situation much later to see any good that came out of it whatsoever. We get pretty nearsighted in the moment and can't see past our trials to the blessings that may come from them. For example, two weeks ago I was officially diagnosed by the mission doctor with moderate to severe insomnia. It's something I've always known, I've had trouble sleeping for several years now, but getting the official diagnosis made me think about it a lot more. At first glance, it's hard to see any good that comes out of something like this. It seems like running on two or three hours of sleep a night would make me pretty useless. At times it feels like it does. But then thinking about the effects it's had on me so far paints a totally different picture. Looking back on the past few years I would expect to remember a lot of times that I wasn't able to do anything because I was too tired. I don't I remember a lot of times, especially on my mission, without the benefit of sleeping in on weekends, that I have been tired, but never to the point that I was unable to do what I needed to. Instead I remembered countless nights that I would go out to the living room of the apartment, or at home, just turn on the light, and read for hours. Novels, biographies, almanacs, encyclopedias, everything, I just mowed through it. Since my mission started my choices have been somewhat more limited, but these late night reading sessions mean that I have just finished reading the entire standard works for the fifth time in the last ten months. Looking back at all of that, it seems incredible to me that I even remember anything that I read, but somehow I do. I realize that so much of the knowledge I've gained from doing this has really blessed my life. So many of the things I actually know anything about I learned reading at three in the morning. Seeing that gives me some gratitude for this trial. That's not to say that I like it, if I could say the word and be able to sleep soundly tonight and for the rest of my life I would do it without hesitation. On the other hand, if I was given the choice to have never had it, I don't know that I would take that. So I guess the point I'm trying to make is that trials aren't much fun. They can really be a thorn in our side. An yet there is good to come out of them. Sometimes it takes a little work. I wouldn't have gained a thing from this had I stayed in bed and stared at the ceiling for four hours a night. But with the right perspective and a little effort we can make good things come from bad situations. Obviously, this is a rather minor trial to deal with. When faced with something far more catastrophic, it seems impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is those times when we have to put our trust in the Lord and know that he will see us safely through to the end. And, as with Joseph Smith was told in his hour of despair in Liberty Jail, "..thy adversity and afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." (D&C 121: 7-8)

The Higher Law

One thing I've had a huge perspective shift on from my primary days to now is my conception of the Higher Law in relation to the Law of Moses. When I would hear that Christ's Law demanded much more of us, I would balk a little. To me it was hard to imagine that the Law of Moses, with all it's strict formalities, would be easier to follow. I remembered how strictly interpreted and strictly enforced the limitations on the Sabbath were, and I always remembered just how many foods were "unclean." I thought in our day, with the only boundaries on the Sabbath the ones we set for ourselves, no ban on any particular foods, Word of Wisdom notwithstanding, and no animal sacrifices to be made, that we lived under a much easier law. 

The Scriptures and the Gathering of Isreal

In the Tenth Article of Faith, it reads: "We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the Restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion, (The New Jerusalem,) will be built upon the American Continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the Earth; and the Earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaical glory." The Gathering of Israel is a fairly complex subject. I'll give a little background to put it all in perspective. Jacob was a grandson of Abraham, who was promised through a covenant with God that his seed would be the chosen people of the Lord. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, had twelve sons, who, after some shuffling around and adding in his grandsons, became the Twelve Tribes of Israel. In the course of history, these tribes failed to live up to their covenants and were scattered. Only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained intact, while the others were driven out and lost, becoming the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Although they were lost, God promised that they would be restored. "And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase." (Jer. 23:3) This is the dispensation that the Lost Tribes will be gathered. The Keys to the Gathering of Israel were given to Joseph Smith by the Prophet Moses in the Kirtland Temple in 1836.

The Doctrine of Christ, Part 5: Endure to the End

Once we have received the ordinances of Baptism and Confirmation, our spiritual journey is hardly over. In fact, the scriptures call baptism the gate to the strait and narrow path, and that the majority of the journey lies ahead. (see 2 Nephi 31: 19-20) None of these things in the Doctrine of Christ were meant as one time events. Faith is not something that we have once and it is over. We have to continually strenghten our faith in order to stay on the path. Since we all sin, repentance is needed, not only once but constantly throughout our lives. We renew the coventants we make at baptism each week by partaking of the Sacrament, in order to qualify us to have the Spirit. In a way, enduring to the end is nothing more than a rinse, repeat cycle. The Doctrine of Christ is the way we progress, and we need to continuously walk that path to keep progressing. In fact, it is the halt of progress that the scriptures mean when they talk of damnation. So then what exactly do we mean when we talk of endurance? Often the scripures bring to mind the idea of suffering for the Gospel's sake. Passages like Matthew 10: 22 and Romans 8: 17 certainly bring this image to mind. Thankfully, much of the physical persecution that has faced the saints of every age is a thing of the past. Yet today, we are still faced with many trials as a result of the wickedness of the world. As such, more often the way we endure is to stay true to our covenants in spite of the adversity the world can throw at us. We may not be asked to suffer being driven from our homes and tarred and feathered along the way, but we are asked to stay true to the standards of the Church we promised to obey regardless of how easy the alternative may seem. When we endure the trials of our faith that are placed in our lives, we show our commitment to the Gospel and our loyalty to Christ. We are promised incredible blessings if we can just do this. Just as a runner who has to complete the entire race before he can have his rest, we are asked to give our best in this life so that we can qualify for these blessings in the life to come.

The Doctrine of Christ, Part 4: The Gift of the Holy Ghost

After baptism we are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the right to have the Spirit with us at all times as long as we live worthily. "Baptism of water without the bestowal of the Holy Ghost would be incomplete, and would be but half a baptism" (Bible Dictionary, Confirmation) Having the Gift of the Holy Ghost is essential to complete baptism and make it valid. The ordinance of confirmation is also when we become official members of the Church. When Nicodemus came to Christ to ask what he must do to inherit the Kingdom of God, Jesus answered,

"... Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of Water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3: 3-5) 

Through this we learn that baptism by water, though necessary, is not enough alone. We must also have a baptism by the Spirit, which comes from receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Having the Holy Ghost is essential to conversion to the truth. Though the Gift of the Holy Ghost can come only after baptism, those who are not yet to that point can still receive guidance, direction, comfort, and testimony though the Spirit. This is called the Power of the Holy Ghost, and is available to anyone. The difference is that the Power of the Holy Ghost is fleeting, while the Gift of the Holy Ghost is constant. The Power of the Holy Ghost can come to one who is investigating the Church to witness to them that the things they are hearing are true. It can build someone's testimony sufficiently to lead them to joining the Church, at which point they can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The Gift of the Holy Ghost can transform one's testimony and strengthen it immensely. I think the best illustration of this is in the Apostle Peter. Peter was a man of great faith, enough so that he was briefly able to walk on the water with Christ. He was sure enough in his testimony of the Savior that he claimed he was ready to die for him. This story is found toward the end of Christ's life as recorded by Luke:

"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me."(Luke 22: 31-34)

 Peter walked with Christ through most of His earthly ministry. He knew as much as anyone on the earth at that time that Jesus was the Christ. He gave up his trade and more or less his life to follow the Savior, yet Christ said when thou art converted. Christ's word proved to be prophetic and Peter did indeed deny him three times before the morning. Not too long afterward, but some time after the Crucifixion and Resurrection, Peter was preaching to a crowd, likely many of the same that accused him of being with Christ that night, Possibly some of the same that he denied knowing Him to. Yet this time he was bold, bluntly accusing the people in the multitude of crucifying their Lord. This is obviously a different man than the one who denied his association with the Lord earlier. So what happened to Peter to change him from a man who knew that Christ was the Savior yet couldn't stand up to his beliefs, to the man who called out an entire crowd for murdering Jesus? The answer is that in between these episodes he gained the Gift of the Holy Ghost. In Acts chapter 2 we read about the bestowal of the Holy Ghost to the disciples. Though Christ had previously promised them the Gift of the Holy Ghost, it didn't come to them until the Day of Pentecost. Receiving this Gift transformed Peter, along with the other disciples, so they were ready for their ministry. After having received the Spirit, Peter became one of the most stalwart men in history regarding his testimony of Christ, and eventually made good on his promise to die for the Savior many years later. Having the Gift of the Holy Ghost was what made the difference for Peter. He truly was converted by it's power. All his time with Christ had not fully converted him, but the witness of the Spirit had.

The Doctrine of Christ, Part 3: Baptism

Covenants play an important role in our progression in the Gospel. I think most of us know the definition for a covenant: a two-way promise between us an God in which we are promised blessings in return for our obedience. Covenants are often received through ordinances, such as  baptism or temple ordinances. These covenants allow us to further our relationship to God and progress as His children. In the Bible Dictionary it says: "The gospel is so arranged that principles and ordinances are received by covenant placing the recipient under strong obligation and responsibility to honor the commitment." We must fulfill our part of the promise to receive the promised blessings. The Lord says in D&C 82:10, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." The Lord will bless us if we obey Him. There is no condition other than that.

Baptism is the first of these covenants that we make in our lives. In this covenant we promise a few things, that we will take upon ourselves the name of Christ, that we will always remember him, and that we will keep his commandments. In return we are promised a remission of our sins and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. (see sacrament prayers in D&C 20: 77, 79) Baptism is also the way by which we enter the Church. When we covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, we take weighty responsibility with that. The Lord has commanded "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Deut. 5: 11) This not only applies to vain or casual use of the name of deity but also in the sense that we take His name through baptism. In doing so we make ourselves representatives of the Savior. To do so in vain would be to dishonor the Covenant. As a missionary I have the name of the Lord upon me in a very literal sense. The name badge we wear bears the name of Christ just under our own name. This means that every action I make, people see the name of the Savior on me as I do it. Likewise, all of us, after baptism, are representatives of Christ in the same way. By keeping the Commandments and always remembering Him, the other two parts of our promise, we also wear the name of the Lord well.

Through Baptism we are promised great blessings. The promise of Eternal Life is ours if we remain faithful and receive all the covenants of the Gospel. We are asked to give a small thing in comparison to what we receive. As in all aspects of our lives, we are indebted to God for his gifts to us. Christ himself was baptized, though not for a remission of sins, as that was unnecessary, but to "Fulfill all Righteousness." (Matt. 3:16) All of us need to make this important step in our progression and remain faithful to those promises which we made, so that all the promised blessings may be ours.

The Doctrine of Christ, Part 2: Repentance

One of the great things about the gospel is that it is simple enough for a spiritual infant to grasp, yet complex enough to keep the worlds best scholars busy for their whole lives. Books upon books have been written about some of the simplest truths that we know. It is the same with any aspect of the gospel, including the Doctrine of Christ. I love the simplicity of how each part builds on itself and starts over and keeps building. The first building block is faith. Next comes repentance. We can't skip over steps in our progression. We see quite often people who want to be baptized without true repentance, thinking that the baptism itself will satisfy that requirement. This doesn't quite work. Just as we can't truly repent until we have faith, we shouldn't be baptized before we are prepared. But there is so much more to repentance than getting us to baptism. All of us have "sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and we therefore have great need of the Atonement of Christ, that makes repentance possible for us. Since our Heavenly Father is a God of both justice and mercy, His plan included a way for both to be satisfied. With The Savior's selfless sacrifice for us satisfied the demand for justice while mercifully allowing us a way to overcome our sin. (More in 2 Nephi 2:6-8) Without The Atonement, all of us would inevitably face justice for all our sins. Through Christ we have a way to escape our own transgressions and guilt and become pure again. Many of us see repentance as a difficult process that  we would rather avoid. It is difficult, but the alternative is so much worse. In the First Epistle of John it says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The gift of the Atonement and the Sacrifice of His Son is the greatest gift that Heavenly Father could have given us. If we delude ourselves into thinking that we don't need to repent, we are saying that we don't want that gift. At this point I'm afraid that the tone of this post is a little too negative for my liking, but the overall message I want to convey is one of hope. Without Christ we would have none, but thankfully that is not the case. That is the message that we want to bring to the world, that a loving Father has provided a way for all of us to return to Him, and that way is trough His Son. We can all find happiness through faith and repentance on the name of Christ.

The Doctrine of Christ, Part 1: Faith

In the MTC we are drilled pretty ruthlessly to remember one thing. that thing is found on page one of Preach My Gospel. The Missionary purpose. It's something we have to memorize and recite at every district meeting, zone conference, ect. it is as follows: "My purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the Restored Gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Those five things, faith, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, make up what is known as the Doctrine of Christ. This doctrine is outlined pretty extensively in Second Nephi 31 and Third Nephi 11. Since this is our purpose out here as missionaries, I thought I'd do  a little miniseries, writing a little about each step, Which brings us to the topic at hand, Faith.

 We are given the definition of faith in Hebrews 1:11- "Now faith  is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." and again in Alma 32:21 "And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." This seems to me to be a slightly different definition of what we usually consider to be faith. For example, I don't ever recall anyone standing up in testimony meeting and saying "I hope the Book of Mormon is true, I hope Joseph smith was a Prophet," and so on. we like to equate faith with knowledge, and yet this is different than what the scriptures teach. We are never commanded to have a perfect knowledge in the scriptures, but rather to have faith. Paul says "for we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Cor. 5:7) and in Alma 32 it says "Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.

Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it." (Alma 32:17,18) So obviously there is a difference between faith and knowledge. I think this difference is shown pretty clearly in the story of the Brother of Jared. This was a man of great faith, and in fact his faith was so great that the veil was taken from him and he saw the Lord. after this, Moroni says, "And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting." This experience made it impossible for him to have faith, it had been replaced with knowledge. So then we know what faith is not. What faith is, however, is what is important to us. Faith is a principle of action and power, as defined in the Bible Dictionary. In James 2:17 it reads, "Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." It is no passive thing. Faith is not a simple declaration of belief that we do once and forget about it. Faith is something that when we are given it, drives us to do Gods will. this is the reason it is the first principle of the gospel, because no one will truly repent or be baptized without faith. Faith leads us to righteous action, and through continued application of faith, along with the rest of the gospel, we can live up to our divine potential. As we act on our faith, it grows, leading us to more action. Faith is a gift from God and it is our duty to do all we can with it. I've now run out of both time at the library and things to say, so hopefully though the time crunch I was able to say at least something that made sense to someone. Thanks for listening. 

Service

So I've been straining to think of what to write for my first *real* mission blog post, and whether that's because I had too many ideas flying around my head or none at all I'll let you decide. I finally decided to write a little on service, since that is the real thrust of everything we do as missionaries. There are a few reasons that we give service, some better than others. One easy reason is that it makes us feel good and we are generally inclined to repeat behaviors that make us feel good. Another, better reason is to follow the example of the Savior, who said: "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10 :45.) He spent his entire life wholly devoted to the service and salvation of others. As our example he showed us the way to live our lives. Another reason we give service is to fulfill commandment. When some of the Pharisees came to Christ and asked what was the great commandment in the law, He responded, "Thou shalt love  the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22: 36-40) On this hangs all the law and the prophets. Everything we do in the Church, from the Word of Wisdom to Tithing to Family History stems from a love of God and a love of all mankind. And as we learn from King Benjamin, "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17) So these two scriptures, taken together show that service fulfills both of the great commandments. As we serve others we show our love to them and by extension to God. Obviously there are other things that we do in order to show obedience to the commandments, but service is a great way to demonstrate our love. When we are lost in the service of others blessings will always come. My mission has already been a huge blessing in my life in the short eight months I've spent here. I know that selfless service can bless the lives of those who give it, sometimes even more than those who receive it.

Here goes nothing

Ok so I finally decided to get my blog up and running. My goal in writing this blog is to provide my own shallow insights to the gospel and to hopefully bring others closer to the Savior. Hopefully I can produce at least a few semi-coherent posts from time to time, although not today. I've been fighting a losing battle with the computer to get to this point and I think I'll wait to actually write something good until next time. Let history mark the day, March 8, 2011, that Elder Decker officially hits the internet, for better or worse. Here goes nothing!