Today's reading focused on church disciplinary councils. I for one hope to forever avoid this blessed event. My dad always returned from these spiritually and emotionally drained. I'm guessing mostly because it is just hard to see people who are a) trying to do the right thing, but keep getting their hand caught in some sort of sinful cookie jar, or b) have to deal with people that have been caught doing something wrong and just wanted to get away with it without suffering the consequences.
However, the reading was insightful in that it reminded me that even though the thought of a disciplinary council is scary, it isn't to punish or blame the sinner. It is to allow them the opportunity to repent and feel the love of our Savior once again. That being said, I still hope to never be part of a church disciplinary council. I would rather avoid sin than have to go through the repentance process. My mom teases me that the only reason I will get to the celestial kingdom is because I am afraid of getting in trouble, and not because I genuinely want to be the best person I can be. She is mostly right, but only in the sense that I hate getting caught doing something wrong, and I always feel guilty when I do. So rather than live with that, I just do the right thing to keep myself from having to "fess up."
I am grateful for the gospel and the opportunity it provides us to repent and make up for the things that we do wrong. Reading about church disciplinary councils helped me to realize that they aren't instituted to air dirty laundry in public, or chastise someone for sinning, but rather to help those who are caught in a web of sin to find their way back to Christ.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
June 29, 2010
D&C 72, 78-80, 82-83
72
Administer according to their WANTS, not needs.
82
-Inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you.
-Leave judgment alone with me, and I will repay.
Today's reading focused on the law of consecration, and more broadly on how we treat those around us. A few things stood out to me while I was reading which I found important. The first was in D&C 72: 11 which tells us to administer according to the wants of those we are serving rather than their needs. I was talking to Ryan on Sunday about his calling which is financial clerk. Out of curiosity I asked him what our ward pays for, to help the less fortunate in our ward. He said that they pay rent, car payments, and cell phone bills most often. This kind of surprised me. I see rent, and maybe a car payment (if it is your only car, cheap, etc.) as necessities and as something that the ward could step in and help out with, but cell phone bills wasn't something I considered a necessity. Personally, I would cancel my cell phone service before asking the ward for a handout.
However, I think there is a principle being taught here, that I am grateful our bishop has chosen to hearken to and obey. We are to care for people's wants and not just their needs. I don't know circumstances of why people need help financially, and thankfully I am not the one who has stewardship to judge that. I am glad though that our bishop looks out for the wants of those he serves and not just their needs.
The other thing that stood out to me today was in D&C 82. I really liked the verses which state, "-Inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you," and "leave judgment alone with me, and I will repay." What a comfort it is that we are not responsible for judging individuals. I do get on a soapbox a little bit when people use these scriptures to say that we should NEVER judge. False, everybody makes judgments. Elder Oaks taught us that we are never to pass final judgment, and we should only judge actions and not individuals and leave the rest up to the Lord.
I think there is a comfort in this distinction. We don't have to worry about what other people do, unless it is harming us. It is easy to judge something and say, "That is not good for me." The danger comes in when we say, "That person is evil because of the things they do which are not good for me." I think this is the message that the Lord is portraying at the end of section 82. He is reminding them to make friends with their enemies because it will be to their advantage, but not to engage in the activities that they do.
72
Administer according to their WANTS, not needs.
82
-Inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you.
-Leave judgment alone with me, and I will repay.
Today's reading focused on the law of consecration, and more broadly on how we treat those around us. A few things stood out to me while I was reading which I found important. The first was in D&C 72: 11 which tells us to administer according to the wants of those we are serving rather than their needs. I was talking to Ryan on Sunday about his calling which is financial clerk. Out of curiosity I asked him what our ward pays for, to help the less fortunate in our ward. He said that they pay rent, car payments, and cell phone bills most often. This kind of surprised me. I see rent, and maybe a car payment (if it is your only car, cheap, etc.) as necessities and as something that the ward could step in and help out with, but cell phone bills wasn't something I considered a necessity. Personally, I would cancel my cell phone service before asking the ward for a handout.
However, I think there is a principle being taught here, that I am grateful our bishop has chosen to hearken to and obey. We are to care for people's wants and not just their needs. I don't know circumstances of why people need help financially, and thankfully I am not the one who has stewardship to judge that. I am glad though that our bishop looks out for the wants of those he serves and not just their needs.
The other thing that stood out to me today was in D&C 82. I really liked the verses which state, "-Inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you," and "leave judgment alone with me, and I will repay." What a comfort it is that we are not responsible for judging individuals. I do get on a soapbox a little bit when people use these scriptures to say that we should NEVER judge. False, everybody makes judgments. Elder Oaks taught us that we are never to pass final judgment, and we should only judge actions and not individuals and leave the rest up to the Lord.
I think there is a comfort in this distinction. We don't have to worry about what other people do, unless it is harming us. It is easy to judge something and say, "That is not good for me." The danger comes in when we say, "That person is evil because of the things they do which are not good for me." I think this is the message that the Lord is portraying at the end of section 82. He is reminding them to make friends with their enemies because it will be to their advantage, but not to engage in the activities that they do.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Celestial, Terrestrial, or Telestial?
I have a few journal assignments to catch up on since we had extra days of class. I want to write right now about judging our own actions and seeing how we measure up. This has been on my mind a lot lately as we have been studying the 76 section of D&C in class this past week. We went through and categorized the actions, thoughts and behaviors of telestial, terrestrial, and celestial people as we read this section. In very general circumstances, the telestial people are those who are guilty of sins of comission, the terrestial people are guilty of sins of omission, and celestial people are those who follow Jesus' teachings and examples.
As we went through all of these characteristics it caused me to reflect on my day-to-day actions and wonder what type of life I am living. I'd like to say that for the most part I've overcome the telestial world. I don't lie, cheat, or steal. I may think things that aren't very nice and occasionally I slip up and say things that aren't very nice, but I don't fornicate or kill people.
I'd like to think that most of my actions lie somewhere in between terrestrial and celestial. I go to church and I read my scriptures, but sometimes I am too lazy to make it to the temple as often as I should, or I do a "check the box" type of scripture study. Sometimes I think of others before myself and that would put me in the celestial category, but other times I forget to do my visiting teaching and don't look outside of myself to help and serve others.
One of the main things I thought about during this discussion was my relationship with Ryan's family. I don't have a relationship with them really, and the times that we have spoken or been together I have always come away degraded or hurt. The telestial person in me could have told them what I really think of them, but thankfully I'm either too much of a coward, or I've gained enough patience that I have held my tongue. I am thoroughly in the terrestrial category in this instance (and I do realize that this isn't where my sights should be set). Because of all of the hurt they have caused me I have chosen to ignore them and avoid them. This keeps me safe and keeps us from having any fights or arguments.
I do know that there is some distance that needs to be maintained in this relationship as far as keeping my family safe and progressing towards eternal life. However, the celestial being in me would be making an effort to have some sort of relationship. It would be the one putting together letters, care packages, and getting over the fact that they have hurt me and are rude and mean to me, and would move forward and try to build bridges.
I think I had started towards that path up until a few months ago. Things happened that stopped the progress, and made me put up fences. I think I need to keep some of those there, but only the ones that are for my protection. I still need to break down the ones that are stubborn and are saying, "I deserve an apology." Christ never got an apology from those who crucified Him and smote Him, so why do I think I deserve anything more?
As we went through all of these characteristics it caused me to reflect on my day-to-day actions and wonder what type of life I am living. I'd like to say that for the most part I've overcome the telestial world. I don't lie, cheat, or steal. I may think things that aren't very nice and occasionally I slip up and say things that aren't very nice, but I don't fornicate or kill people.
I'd like to think that most of my actions lie somewhere in between terrestrial and celestial. I go to church and I read my scriptures, but sometimes I am too lazy to make it to the temple as often as I should, or I do a "check the box" type of scripture study. Sometimes I think of others before myself and that would put me in the celestial category, but other times I forget to do my visiting teaching and don't look outside of myself to help and serve others.
One of the main things I thought about during this discussion was my relationship with Ryan's family. I don't have a relationship with them really, and the times that we have spoken or been together I have always come away degraded or hurt. The telestial person in me could have told them what I really think of them, but thankfully I'm either too much of a coward, or I've gained enough patience that I have held my tongue. I am thoroughly in the terrestrial category in this instance (and I do realize that this isn't where my sights should be set). Because of all of the hurt they have caused me I have chosen to ignore them and avoid them. This keeps me safe and keeps us from having any fights or arguments.
I do know that there is some distance that needs to be maintained in this relationship as far as keeping my family safe and progressing towards eternal life. However, the celestial being in me would be making an effort to have some sort of relationship. It would be the one putting together letters, care packages, and getting over the fact that they have hurt me and are rude and mean to me, and would move forward and try to build bridges.
I think I had started towards that path up until a few months ago. Things happened that stopped the progress, and made me put up fences. I think I need to keep some of those there, but only the ones that are for my protection. I still need to break down the ones that are stubborn and are saying, "I deserve an apology." Christ never got an apology from those who crucified Him and smote Him, so why do I think I deserve anything more?
June 28, 2010
Today our reading assignment included a handout that Brother Perkins gave us entitled "Feast Upon the Words of Christ." It was a little bit of a guilt trip for me. It made me realize just how much I had neglected my scripture study in the last year or so. During my freshman year at BYU I started a habit of reading at least 30 minutes a day in the scriptures. I was studying The Book of Mormon at the time and was taking Brother Parker's religion class. He showed us a quote from President Packer which stated that if you studied your scriptures for 30 minutes a day you wouldn't lose your testimony. Easy enough right?
I'm happy to say that for at least 2 years I was diligent in doing this. I might have missed a day or two, I can't remember, but scripture study was of the utmost importance and I worked in time either on work breaks or before I left for the day to "feast upon the words of Christ." I feel like during those two years I learned more doctrine than I had in the 18 years leading up to it.
I hate to admit it, but in the past two years I have regressed back to the point I was at in high school. My mom likes to call this "check the box reading." Namely, I read my scriptures, but only to say that I did it. This term I want to set a goal to make my scripture study more meaningful rather than focusing on a time constraint, or just being able to say that I finished something. I want to be able to focus and learn and use the Holy Ghost to aid me in my studies.
I'm happy to say that for at least 2 years I was diligent in doing this. I might have missed a day or two, I can't remember, but scripture study was of the utmost importance and I worked in time either on work breaks or before I left for the day to "feast upon the words of Christ." I feel like during those two years I learned more doctrine than I had in the 18 years leading up to it.
I hate to admit it, but in the past two years I have regressed back to the point I was at in high school. My mom likes to call this "check the box reading." Namely, I read my scriptures, but only to say that I did it. This term I want to set a goal to make my scripture study more meaningful rather than focusing on a time constraint, or just being able to say that I finished something. I want to be able to focus and learn and use the Holy Ghost to aid me in my studies.
Friday, June 25, 2010
D&C 76:24
The other day in class we went over the scripture found in D&C 76:24 which states, "That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."This verse has two parts, namely that this world was created by, through and of Christ (by His physical labor, through His power, and of Him meaning that this world belongs to Christ). However, I've never really realized that those same prepositions apply to "the inhabitants" of this world.
Brother Perkins pointed out that by Christ we are sons and daughters unto God because Christ is our mediator with the Father, through His atonement we can be brought back to the Father, and we are of Him because of the price He paid for us. We began talking about how nobody ever really gets a happy connotation out of being "owned" by someone else. If you were playing basketball that would be the biggest taunting strategy ever.
However, none of us mind being owned by Christ. I think mostly this boils down to trust. When you trust someone you are willing to put yourself in their control because you know that they will follow through with what they have said they will do. We trust that if we align our will with Christ's we will be brought back to the presence of God through Him.
This relationship reminds me of the relationship between husband and wife, in some small ways. I don't think my husband thinks of himself as having ownership of me, but we have made promises that make me his. I am okay with this. I know that through my husband I have access to the priesthood power and the saving ordinances that are contained there, and I trust him to honor and uphold that power so that both of us can receive the blessings from the ordinances associated with that power. I trust him to be worthy to bless our children, baptize them, heal them when they are sick, and resurrect me when the time comes. Because of this trust I have no problem with not being a priesthood holder, because I have no need for it. I already have access to it through a man that I know will follow through and bring me those promised blessings.
This is like our relationship with Christ because it all comes back to trust. If you trust someone to follow through with their end of the bargain, you would never get all hot and bothered about the fact that they "own you."
Brother Perkins pointed out that by Christ we are sons and daughters unto God because Christ is our mediator with the Father, through His atonement we can be brought back to the Father, and we are of Him because of the price He paid for us. We began talking about how nobody ever really gets a happy connotation out of being "owned" by someone else. If you were playing basketball that would be the biggest taunting strategy ever.
However, none of us mind being owned by Christ. I think mostly this boils down to trust. When you trust someone you are willing to put yourself in their control because you know that they will follow through with what they have said they will do. We trust that if we align our will with Christ's we will be brought back to the presence of God through Him.
This relationship reminds me of the relationship between husband and wife, in some small ways. I don't think my husband thinks of himself as having ownership of me, but we have made promises that make me his. I am okay with this. I know that through my husband I have access to the priesthood power and the saving ordinances that are contained there, and I trust him to honor and uphold that power so that both of us can receive the blessings from the ordinances associated with that power. I trust him to be worthy to bless our children, baptize them, heal them when they are sick, and resurrect me when the time comes. Because of this trust I have no problem with not being a priesthood holder, because I have no need for it. I already have access to it through a man that I know will follow through and bring me those promised blessings.
This is like our relationship with Christ because it all comes back to trust. If you trust someone to follow through with their end of the bargain, you would never get all hot and bothered about the fact that they "own you."
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Telestial vs. Terrestrial
Today's reading assignment was D&C 76: 71-113. The verses here differentiate between the criteria to make it into the terrestrial vs. the telestial kingdom. Now I remember being 12 (okay maybe even 16) and never being able to remember which was the lower or the higher of the two. Thankfully Danny Fudge came up with the perfect way to remember which was which, and now I never have a problem remembering which one comes first so the solution is fool-proof :)
You see, telestial has an L in it. L stands for Loser, and the telestial is the Lowest. I just helped you, you will never again forget which kingdom is the lowest because they're all losers. I imagine a bunch of people with big L's on their forehead floating around down there.
This reading section however caused me to mostly reflect on the differentiations between the people in each kingdom. The scriptures lay out some pretty good guidelines for who goes where, but at the same time I see a lot of gray area. Like there are people who go to church occasionally and are pretty decent individuals most of the time, but somehow lose the ability to think for a moment and end up committing some pretty big sins. Are they judged for the majority of their lives, or the few weeks days or minutes where they did something wrong? It makes me glad that I don't have to be the judge of those situations.
Mostly I've been thinking about my Uncle Carl. He committed suicide and was a pretty strange fellow most of his life. However, prophets have told us that if parents are faithful to their temple covenants then their children will not be lost in the grand scheme of things. I sometimes wonder if there is a caveat for situations like Carl's where they commit an unpardonable sin. Does the faithfulness of his parents cancel out his transgression? If so how is that fair that he chooses the wrong path and still gets a get out of jail free card? If he doesn't get a free pass to the celestial kingdom, will my mom ever be happy there without her brother?
I sometimes wonder if we are too limited in our view and understanding of the scriptures that we neglect to remember that we are the children of a loving and all-knowing God. I'm sure He has these things worked out, but I'm glad He gets to sort it out and I just have to try to obey.
You see, telestial has an L in it. L stands for Loser, and the telestial is the Lowest. I just helped you, you will never again forget which kingdom is the lowest because they're all losers. I imagine a bunch of people with big L's on their forehead floating around down there.
This reading section however caused me to mostly reflect on the differentiations between the people in each kingdom. The scriptures lay out some pretty good guidelines for who goes where, but at the same time I see a lot of gray area. Like there are people who go to church occasionally and are pretty decent individuals most of the time, but somehow lose the ability to think for a moment and end up committing some pretty big sins. Are they judged for the majority of their lives, or the few weeks days or minutes where they did something wrong? It makes me glad that I don't have to be the judge of those situations.
Mostly I've been thinking about my Uncle Carl. He committed suicide and was a pretty strange fellow most of his life. However, prophets have told us that if parents are faithful to their temple covenants then their children will not be lost in the grand scheme of things. I sometimes wonder if there is a caveat for situations like Carl's where they commit an unpardonable sin. Does the faithfulness of his parents cancel out his transgression? If so how is that fair that he chooses the wrong path and still gets a get out of jail free card? If he doesn't get a free pass to the celestial kingdom, will my mom ever be happy there without her brother?
I sometimes wonder if we are too limited in our view and understanding of the scriptures that we neglect to remember that we are the children of a loving and all-knowing God. I'm sure He has these things worked out, but I'm glad He gets to sort it out and I just have to try to obey.
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