To Be Trusted

"I trust you."

What does that mean?

It can be reassuring and instill confidence. It also can be a reminder of the responsibility that comes with that trust. Being trusted is both the most frightening and flattering thing on the earth. It's also going out of style.

Trust is becoming a forgotten virtue in our modern dog-eat-dog world. World news is rife with scandals and schemes. People forsaking moral and ethical values to scrape a few inches higher on the corporate ladder. How many relationships have ended because a trust was violated or taken advantage of? How many people deal with trust issues because the very people whom should be deserving of their implicit trust have burned that bridge one too many times? How ironic that as society is becoming more and more accessible and integrated (through social media, etc.) we, as individuals, are becoming more and more isolated.

Trusting people gives then power and makes you vulnerable. It's a scary thing. But there are few things as sweet as finding those few people whom you can trust unconditionally. Try to think of someone whom you know you can trust. Those people are not selfish or have ulterior motives, they have your best interest at heart, you feel safe around them, they are not afraid to share their opinion even if it's contrary to yours, they may not be perfect but they're trying.

To be told "I trust you" by someone can be frightening. In this age of if-you're-responsible-for-anything-at-all-that-doesn't-work-out-perfect-then-you-get-your-face-sued-off trust can be a scary thing; both to trust and to be trusted. But now let's take a different look at trust. Perhaps from a more eternal perspective.

To trust is good, to be trusted is godly.

"And again, verily I say unto you, my servant George Miller is without guile;

he may be trusted because of the integrity of his heart."

(D&C 124:20, emphasis added)

Christ said something very similar of Nathanael in the New Testament when He announced to those surrounding Him that Nathanael was without guile. The verse in the D&C adds slightly to this concept though. "he may be trusted because of the integrity of his heart." I can't think of many greater complements to hear from the Savior.

Trust is the lifeblood of healthy human relationships. A relationship built on anything but mutual respect and trust will eventually fall to pieces leaving those individuals shaking their heads, wondering what happened and where they went wrong.

So if you want deep healthy relationships, if you crave friendship or respect, if you are trying to become more like God, or if you simply want people to trust you then here is the key: Integrity of the heart.

I took Taekwondo from a studio in my teenage years and my instructor offered a simple, but effective. definition of integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing when no one's watching. I like that a lot. It's simple and allows us a base from which we can evaluate ourselves. I don't think that this is necessarily a comprehensive definition of integrity. There are many facets to integrity, but this defintion gives us a good place to start.

What do we do when no one is watching? How do we behave? Where do our thoughts default to? In my previous post we linked heart to our desires. So then to have integrity of the heart also means that our inner desires are pure. This makes perfect sense if you think about it. Everything we do in our lives starts in our desires. If we have righteous desires our lives will radiate with that integrity and the Spirit will be with us in greater measures.

But as soon as we let selfishness, dishonesty, pride, or anything else of that nature enter into our hearts we effectively drain out our integrity. Then that Spirit leaves and we are more likely to break the trusts we have gained.

Now no one's perfect. Let me be forthright in admitting that I, for one, am far from perfect. I've had more than my fair share of pride in my life. I've certainly been compelled to be humble many many times. And I know I'm not alone here. We all struggle with keeping integrity in our hearts. What we need is the scriptural "change of heart."

This "change of heart" is a topic large enough to fill volumes of books and so I'll barely scratch the surface here. But I would advise any who seek to change the desires of their hearts to follow these three steps.

Drain out the iniquity - Before we can cleanse the inner vessel we need to dump out the filth that's already accumulated in it. Repent of your sins and stop doing those things you know are wrong.

Replace the poor habits with good ones - When you take something out of your life, such as iniquity, you have to replace it with something. Otherwise you will just default back to the things you used to do. Identify those habits you're getting rid of and make conscious decisions of what good things you'll bring into your life to replace whatever was there before. Gardening instead of gossiping. Working out instead of excessive video games. Scripture study out in nature instead of browsing "adult rated" internet sites. Painting instead of drinking. Spend quality time with family members instead of excessive time in your career. You pick. Just pick something specific or else you'll fall back to what you used to do.
It's gonna be difficult, especially for the first two weeks. But you can do it.

Push yourself and set goals - No one's perfect. Keep trying to be better and setting your sites higher.

Pray - You can't get a change of heart without God. Involve Him and nothing's impossible.

That's as deep as I'm going to go for now into a change of heart. For further study I'd recommend this talk by the prophet Esra Taft Benson.

Once we have that integrity of the heart spoken of in the scriptures then we will find some amazing blessings following us. Our relationships will be stronger, we will be generally liked more, people will come to us for advice, and we will find an inner strength and self-confidence that can only come from having a pure heart before God.

"He may be trusted because of the integrity of his heart."

(D&C 124:20, emphasis added)

I can't think of anything I'd rather have.

Keep pushing on.

Andrew

(Added later)
A quick last thought from Elder Nelson: "Danger lurks when we try to divide ourselves with expressions such as “my private life” or even “my best behavior.” If one tries to segment his or her life into such separate compartments, one will never rise to the full stature of one’s personal integrity—never to become all that his or her true self could be."

Your Wish is My Command

Wishes

My genie would definitely come out of
an epic lamp, such as this one.

What if you found a genie and he would grant you three wishes? (Why three, I don't know, but that's the generally accepted number of wishes right?) What would you wish for?

I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been asked that, or times when I just thought about it randomly on my own. Here are my personal answers:

- Telekinesis

- To be the richest man in the world

- A photographic memory

Oh and I just asked a coworker of mine and his are

- Have dental school completely paid for

- Control time

- Be able to eat whatever he wants and maintain his body shape

All of our wishes are probably very different and some of them might be the same. Many people wish for financial success, better health, unusual powers, fame, knowledge, and so on and so forth. Wishes also seem to change as we grow older and have new life experiences.

(I seriously want anyone reading this to think right now of what their three wishes would be. Come up with all three. Seriously. There's a purpose behind this later believe me, but for now just come up with three wishes you'd ask a genie. I don't care if they're stereotypical or cliche.)

Desires

Now God is infinitely more powerful than a genie. He also loves us and knows us perfectly! We are His children. And guess what. He's made us promises way better than anything we could ever wish for. Some of which seem almost as if He's inviting us to, in a sense, make our three wishes.

"Even as you desire of me so it shall be unto you."

(D&C 6:8,11:8)

Wow. Is anyone else a little amazed at that verse? Taken at face value I might think something like this: "Well alright then, I desire money, fame, power, and an ice cream sandwich. So go ahead. ..... Any time now... No rush, I can wait 15 minutes or so... Yep, didn't think so." There are obviously layers in this verse that need to be broken down. (See my previous post for more information on the layers within the scriptures).

The key word in this particular passage is obviously "desire." The modern common usage of the word desire would define it as synonymous to want or wish. But the scriptural use of the word desire had much more to do with one's heart. Therefore, it was more akin to a longing or a craving. Something that was much more than just a wish, but an emotion distinctly felt in the heart. I might define it as a longing of the soul.

Different Types of Desire

True desire, which comes from God and is given to us through the Spirit, will lead us toward Him and toward spiritual satisfying. That true desire comes as a natural consequence of us being God's spirit children. We are children of light and our spirits will bring us that desire for goodness and truth. Almost as a spiritual hunger leading us to be better. The scriptures describe this as a "hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt 5:6). Tied to this type of desire is faith. "According to your desires, yea, even according to your faith shall it be done unto you." (D&C 11:17) To have faith in the things we desire we must know that what we seek for is right. (3 Ne 18:20)

Satin on the other hand, has his cheap imitations of desire. Lust, laziness, overindulgent behavior, fanciful imaginations, greed, revenge, pride, etc. If we succumb to the cravings of the natural man all of these emotions and behaviors will sap our ability to feel the true desires of our spirits.

We many feel a "desire" to play video games all day. I've seen that "desire" take a number of my peers under its virtual wings. But isn't that just the natural man trying to convince us to just be lazy, or to zone out of things in life that we should be confronting head-on. I'm not saying that video games are inherently bad, but there is a time and a place for them that's abused more often than not. There's certainly a desire for money in this world, but Jacob offers us great counsel for when that is appropriate and when it is not.

Basically here's the key in Moroni 7:12-13 to discern which type of desire you're feeling. 

If it is good and brings you to Christ - It's from God.

If it takes you in any other direction - It's not from God.

"What we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity... Only by educating and training our desires can they become our allies instead of our enemies!" (Elder Neal A. Maxwell)

Where your treasure is...

Let's peel back another level of this word desire, shall we? The key to this layer is a verse given to us word for word three different times in the scriptures. Twice in the New Testament and once in the Book of Mormon.

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." 

(Click to see References)

It's obvious that heart can be defined as our desires. The things we really want deep down in our heart. Treasure can be defined, not only as money, but also as our time, and/or our effort. With those terms defined lets reword the scripture. Whatever we spend our money, time, and/or efforts on are the true desires of our hearts.

Are we ready to face this reality? Cause I'm warning you, for most of us this is where it starts to get personal.

If we ask God for one thing and then put something else of a higher priority we are, in essence, lying to God. Where are our desires if we ask God to help us in school and then deprive ourselves of sleep night after night so that we can hang out with our friends, pushing our homework back further and further into oblivion. Obviously we are telling God with our mouths that we desire good things and then place our hearts in a completely different area. Sound like a scripture to you? Good, cause it is.
"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." (Matt 15:8)

I doubt he was praying for help with his memes...

We ask God "help me to find more friends," "help me find someone to date," "help me to be a better parent," etc. All good wholesome desires! But then we turn around and spend countless hours proving to God that what we really want is full access to Pinterest for all of eternity. Or perhaps we're showing God that our hobbies are more important than our relationships. We pray for God to help the missionaries and then avoid gospel topics around our coworkers and friends. 

Enough. You get the idea. Asking God for one thing and then doing another is a form of hypocrisy.

Pray like it all depends on God, then work like it all depends on yourself.

Occasionally, and I'll say this very carefully, there is really nothing that you can do. The illness of a loved one living far away. The plight of a stranger to "please pray for me." The pleading of parents for a child far removed from home. There are some cases in which there is nothing we can do, but call upon God and leave it in His capable hands. Most of the time, however, there is something we really can do, no matter how small, to prove to God that the blessings we seek, whether for ourselves or for others, are truly the desires of our heart.

The Final Step
Lets say I have a 10 year old child who wants a sports car really really badly. Lets say this child askes me all the time for one, works to save money, reads car magazines and manuals, educates himself as much as possible, and really shows me he truly wants a sports car with all his heart. Would I get him one? Nope. He's too young. Would I get him one when he turns 16. Nope. He needs to prove he's responsible and knows how to drive and care for a car. Would I get him one when he turns 25? That's harder to say. I don't think I would though. He's a man now. He's old enough to set his priorities straight and work for something that he really wants.

The Will of God plays a part in what we will actually receive in this life. God is a perfect parent. He permits us agency to make our own decisions. That also means that God won't (figuratively speaking) give us a Ferrari when we're 10. Sometimes we don't understand why things are happening to us, or why the things for which we ask, which are completely justified in our eyes, seem far away and not forthcoming.

Couples who struggle their whole lives financially, someone who's physical body is crippled in some way, for some people there is emotional damage (which I believe is one of the most difficult trials to bear), the loss of loved ones or friends, mockery and isolation from those who should welcome and support us. These are real trials for which, I have no doubt, the desire to be rid of these heavy weights is real and exemplifies the longing of the soul associated with desire.

But sometimes God has a His own timetable and His own plan. A higher plan. A plan that if we could only see the end from the beginning we would bear up our burdens gladly because of the glorious dawn in the near future! We will receive the things we truly desire! And so much more! If we can just press on through this night of darkness the dawn of the new day, the coming of the Savior and our returning to Him, will be glorious! Filled with healing and rest from cares and sorrows.

For those of us who feel the desires of our hearts have not been met, have faith in God. The darkest night precedes the brightest dawn. You will receive everything that God has promised.

Finally

"Even as you desire of me so it shall be unto you."

(D&C 6:8,11:8)

To take full advantage of this promise we must involve these key elements:
- Have true desires for things which are right and wholesome.
- Be willing to do everything we can personally to obtain those desires (including prayer)
- Have faith in the will of God that all His promises will be fulfilled and that "all things shall work together for your good."

Now look at those three "wishes" you chose at the beginning. Reevaluate them. What are the three things you truly desire in your life right now? Write them down. Go to work. Good luck. :)

Keep pushing on brothers and sisters.

Andrew

Want to Find Hidden Scripture?

Scenario: You go to read your scriptures. You might be anywhere: work, school, in bed starring at the ceiling at 3:00 am cause you can't sleep, sitting in your parked car waiting to pick someone up, swimming laps, etc. You open up whatever book of scripture you may be reading at the time, and you have the thought "Where am I even gonna read from? I've read all this before..." Then you thumb through a few pages rather listlessly wondering where and what to read, liking your friends posts and photos, cruising through Facebook and pinning the cutest outfits and new home DIY projects that will be so helpful... See how that happened?

We've all been there. Some of us more than others. So then let's find some hidden scriptures shall we? That would probably shake up our scripture study a little bit.

Check out this interesting verse in the Doctrine and Covenants that deals with "hidden scripture." (Here's our Verse of the Day)

"And now I command you, that if you have good desires—a desire to lay up treasures for yourself in heaven—then shall you assist in bringing to light, with your gift, those parts of my scriptures which have been hidden because of iniquity." (D&C 6:27)

First of all, lets distinguish between lost scripture and hidden scripture.

It's very well documented that there are lost books of scripture that we don't have today.To name a few: there are the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon as well as the entire sealed portion, not to mention the brass plates. There are prophesies of books of scripture written by the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel that will eventually be revealed to the world during the Millennium. Basically there's a lot of stuff out there that we haven't even seen yet.

But I don't think this is what the Lord means by hidden scripture.

Lost means we don't have it, hidden means we have it but it's not obvious. It reminds me of a description of parables.

From our Lord’s words we learn the reason for [parables]. It was to veil the meaning. The parable conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story, “seeing they see not,” while to the instructed and spiritual it reveals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Thus it is that the parable exhibits the condition of all true knowledge. Only he who seeks finds. (BD Parables, emphasis added)

Scripture is multifaceted. Meaning that there are many messages hidden within each verse. The spiritually inexperienced will read a verse of scripture and glean some understanding from it. But those whose faith, experience, and humility permit, will see many more applications and connections, doctrine hidden from the uninspired.

To quote President Eyering: "We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections in scripture. But when we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit." (GC Oct. 2010)

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Try this one for yourself first and see if we can come up with the same applications and interpretations of this verse.

This is the Lord speaking: "my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved" (D&C 45:32)

Take a minute and think for yourself what this verse means to you. When you're ready, scroll down and see some things I thought of.

Here are some levels of interpretation I thought of:

1) We are being told to stand in holy places. Holy places are churches and temples. Therefore, we are to attend church and attend, or prepare to attend the temple.

2) Our houses are also spoken of as being holy, therefore we should strive to invite the Spirit into our home at all times.

3) According to President Benson a holy place can be anywhere in which we take a stand for righteousness. So then, where are my holy places? Where are places in which I've taken a stand and stood up for what I knew was right?

4) "Stand in holy places" can all be broken apart. (I'll summarize my thoughts here to not take too much space.
Stand- This is not a passive verb. It is an action. What then is to stand?
In- It doesn't say "on" or "around" or "at" or "hangout with" or anything like that. What does it mean to be "in" holy places as opposed to "at" holy places?
Etc.

So how did you do? Did you think of the same things I did? I certainly hope not!

How boring would Sunday School lessons be if everyone had the exact same thoughts about all the same verses? I wouldn't be able to keep myself awake! (Which is occasionally a problem no matter what's going on in class. ;) But I'm repenting of that and doing much better now.)

I believe that's why our Verse of the Day has this beautiful phrase about our gifts: "then shall you assist in bringing to light, with your gift, those parts of my scriptures which have been hidden"

Each of us have different spiritual gifts, and every one of us is unique. The various thoughts I listed above concerning standing in holy places are just my personal thoughts. I'm sure if I took more time I could come up with more, specifically more ways to apply that scripture into my life.

I love to hear other peoples' thoughts on scriptures because their individual interpretation (through the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit of course) bring to light parts of the scriptures which I hadn't picked up on or which are hidden to me; not because I'm particularly full of iniquity, but I'm also not perfect and therefore I don't have a perfect knowledge of all things

 Certain lessons in the scriptures are, in effect, hidden from me until I am humble enough to honestly listen to another's understanding of that same scripture (including personal revelation through the Spirit). Then my understanding can be enlightened and I can discover those meaning and nuances in the scriptures which were hidden.

So then share your thoughts and your insights. In church, at work (where appropriate), with your children and your friends! We all know those few people in Sunday school who dominate the discussions with their comments and answers to every question. Don't hold back your thoughts if you have something to share because of fear or embarrassment. Even if it's just a short and simple testimony of any sort please share it!

There are people in your life who need to hear what you have to say. Maybe the light of the gospel has been hidden from them because of iniquity, maybe they're struggling with a particular trial right now. But you and your unique gifts can make that hidden principle, which they need, come out into the light.

Don't be afraid to share. You can make a difference.

Keep pushing on.

-Andrew

If the D&C had a slogan...

In the Book of Mormon we read the phrase "keep the commandments" a lot. More often than not it's followed up by something to the effect of: "and you shall prosper in the land." We could say that, in effect, the slogan phrase of the Book of Mormon is "keep the commandments." It's certainly repeated often enough.

Which brings up another point. For a being who's all knowing God tends to repeat Himself a lot. He doesn't forget what he's already told us unlike some of our friends or acquaintances (or perhaps ourselves) who tell people things two, three, four or more times depending on how excited we are about it or how bad our memory is.

I actually enjoy those people quite a bit. Once I lived in an apartment complex for a few semesters while going to college and in that ward there was a young man (he shall remain nameless) whom introduced himself to me no less than six times on six different occasions. Every time asking my name, home state, interests, academic pursuits, etc. We would carry on a bit of small talk and go our separate ways. Apparently he would then promptly forget every word of the conversation. I grew to appreciate the amazing consistency of both his friendliness and his poor memory.

But I digress.

God doesn't repeat Himself because He forgets what He's told us. He repeats himself for our benefit. "Repetition is the key to learning" (A favorite phrase of President Mecham, a mentor of mine). The things God wants us to remember most are the things He tells us most often.

That's why Jesus Christ is referred to 3,923 times in the Book of Mormon (about once every 1.7 verses) and by at least 100 different names. He is the central figure of all scripture. If repetition is the key to learning, God's trying to teach us something here.

By my count, the word "faith" is mentioned 101 times in the Commandments and Blessings of the D&C. I'm not talking about the entire D&C. I'm just talking about the number of blessings mentioned in the D&C that are tied to/dependent on our exercising faith.

Here are a few of the blessings of faithfulness as mentioned in the D&C:
- Lifted up at the last day. (5)
- Saved in the Kingdom of God. (13)
- A hair of your head shall not be lost. (25)
- Your life will be preserved and you shall have an inheritance in Zion. (72)
- The Lord will be with you till His coming. (94)
- Be made ruler over many things. (145)
- Be crowned with blessings from above, and with revelations in their time. (161)
*(Numbers in parentheses are the reference numbers from the Commandments and Blessings list)

Faithfulness is one of the most basic principles of the gospel. Without faith we are spiritually destitute. And faith is much more than just passive belief.

Belief ≠ Faith
(≠ means "does not equal)
We learn from James the brother of Jesus that faith without works is dead. So to have true faith we must have good works that show the evidence of our faith. But here's the interesting part. Faith even goes further than belief combined with works.

Belief + Works ≠ Faith
This is something that people well versed in scripture may have picked up on, but hadn't consciously realized. "The effects of true faith in Jesus Christ include an actual knowledge that the course of life one is pursuing is acceptable to the Lord (see Heb. 11:4)." (BD, Faith) So if we believe in Christ as our Savior and profess good works by fulfilling our callings and outwardly behaving ourselves, but in our heart we are rebelling and reviling against God, concealing sins and being unrepentant, then we don't have true faith. We may have belief, we may even have hope in Gods promises that if we do repent then we can be forgiven. But if the "course of life [we are] pursuing" is not acceptable to the Lord then our faith, as James would put it, is dead.

Belief + Works + Correct Course = True Faith

Now please understand my intent here. I don't at all mean for us to over-criticize ourselves or beat ourselves up for mistakes we make. We are all sinners and that's part of the mortal experience.  My guess would be that many people who would consider their own faith "dead" actually posses a faith which is merely "weak" and in need of strengthening.

That is why the earlier description of faith contains this wording: "the course of life one is pursuing." What are our desires? What are we working towards? What type of life are we pursuing? I love this particular phrase because it involves our works. It doesn't ask what our intentions are. It doesn't ask if our 5 year plan involves repentance or getting back into church activity. It doesn't ask if we're perfect yet, or not. It simply makes us ask ourselves which direction we're heading. Are we taking arrogant strides into the blackness of sin, trusting to our own strength and fortitude to see us through the pitfalls and traps that lurk just beyond our view? Have we given up and are currently coasting along, doing our best to fence-sit our spirituality. Or are we making our way towards God, slowly but surly, regardless of our slip-ups and mistakes along the way?

Faith is a principle of power. "By faith all things are fulfilled." (Ether 12:3) Christ said "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matt 17:20)
And finally in the D&C it promises unto those that ask in faith: "They shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk." (D&C 35:9)


So then let us be faithful.

Perhaps if the Commandments and Blessings of the D&C had a slogan it would be "Be Faithful." So keep doing your best. Stand a little higher and keep pushing on towards Christ.

Andrew

Just pick up that spiritual phone called prayer and talk to God.

I'm afraid that sometimes among people who pray frequently there's a loss of the mentality of the sacredness of the act of prayer. I'll focus mainly in this post on personal prayers.

For those of us (including myself) who pray often, I have a few words of advice.

1) Don't announce to God a list of stuff you wish to get. God's not Santa Claus. If you really need something, by all means go ahead and ask, I don't mean to deter anyone from asking God for things they need, but ask after prayerfully seeking the Lord's will and then doing all you can personally to make it happen.

2) Don't just give God an ambiguous list of all the stuff you want blessed (Bless my family, bless my friends, bless me in school, etc.). Unless you're 4 years old we can think a little deeper than that. We can be more specific and put a little more thought into our prayers and the specific blessings needed.

3) Here's a favorite of mine, partially cause I'm guilty of it too: Don't zone out halfway through your prayer just to zone back in 3 minutes later after re-hashing in your mind that one experience earlier that day when you saw that one person and you said that one thing that you kind of regret now, but you're not sure how they took it and how other people saw you might've meant it and now you have to see everyone tomorrow and you're not sure whether they remembered it and how you should act around them so you should probably just play it cool and wait for them to make the first move, but what if you don't see them and - Oh yeah! there was that thing that you were supposed to get done today but you didn't so how are you gonna get it done in time now? you'll probably have to stay up late, or heaven forbid, wake up early tomorrow. gosh you'd better get to bed right away! What are you even doing chilling on your knees right now when you should be sleeping?? ...

.... Oh yeah. You were praying. See how annoying that is? If I had a friend that called me every night and did that zone-out bit every time, I'd stop answering their calls! Luckily for the human race God is infinitely more patient and loving then I am. But don't zone out during your prayers. The best way I've found to focus my prayers is to pray out loud. It really changes the dynamic of the prayer.

The reason I'm talking about prayer is that the phrase "Ask and ye shall receive" is given 10 times in the D&C alone! (C&B #7) I'm starting to think the Lord really wants us to pray to Him. I dunno though. That's just the vibe I'm getting.

What is prayer though? This is one of my all time favorite descriptions of prayer. It comes from the LDS Bible Dictionary. Now don't skip this just because you think you know what prayer it. I promise you that this description of pray will amaze you. I've read it a dozen times and it touches me. I've taken the liberty of underlining the particularly choice sections.

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." (BD, Prayer)

"Ask and ye shall receive" is actually a very powerful commandment and blessing. I like to tie it to 3 Nephi 18:20 "And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you." I wish I had more time and space to write more about this topic (I'll probably get to it again later, it's one of my favorites), but I encourage a thorough study of prayer to anyone wishing to enrich their relationship with God.

Prayer is beautiful. Truly. Prayer is a sacred privilege. How else could we to fulfill the divine mandate given in the book of John: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God."

Get to know God a little better. Pray to Him and feel his love encompass you. No one, I repeat, no one, is too sinful or too unclean, or too un-holy to talk to God. Christ said himself: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

I know that God answers prayers. He has and does answer mine. I know that he will answer yours.

Andrew

If you're struggling with how to pray click here.

“What I say unto one, I say unto all.”

I am the oldest of eight children in my family. I know that's quite a hoard compared to most families, but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. It has made for an interesting dynamic though. Being the oldest I got many privileges and responsibilities long before my siblings did. I could stay up later, drive, have a cell phone, etc. before some of my siblings could work a toaster. That's just how the world works. (Though various siblings have been somewhat piqued about that fact.)

So what about our Heavenly Father and us as his children? There are an incredible number of unique people and circumstances on the earth. Each of us at various levels of spiritual and temporal progression. So then how do we reconcile the phrase “what I say unto one, I say unto all”, mentioned no less than four separate times, in the D&C? (D&C 62:18,36; 92:1; 93:49)

Take this example: Let's say one day I pray and ask God if it is His will that I become a doctor. Let's say I get a reassuring answer that it is. Does that mean that because God told me it's right for me to become a doctor then He has also told everybody else on earth they should become doctors too? Of course not. So then what does the phrase “What I say unto one, I say unto all" actually mean?

There are two factors in play here. The first is that "[God] is the same yesterday, today, and forever" and "he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity." So it goes against God's nature to tell one of His children one thing, but tell another child something different.

But there is also a second factor."the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God." So although the Lord loves everybody equally He favors the righteous.

God loves us all equally, He promises all of us the same blessings, it is our own personal qualification, preparation, and destination, combined with the will of God that enables us to receive blessings.

This principle is important with the study done in the D&C because a number of the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are addressed to specific people. For example, Section 12 is a revelation to Joseph Knight Sr. But it is still applicable to us because it is revelation from God and put into the D&C specifically for the world to read and apply. (“What I say unto one, I say unto all.”) Therefore, despite some sections of the D&C being revelations for specific people we call all apply it to ourselves individually.

So when we all read the Doctrine and Covenants I encourage you all to not think to yourselves "Oh this is just the Lord speaking to [insert name here] so it doesn't apply to me." But rather "How can I apply the principles in this section to my own life?" This will narrow the distance between our lives and the word of God. Seek to apply in all cases the word of God and He will bless you for it.

This concludes the three part posting introducing my study of the commandments and blessings of the Doctrine and Covenants. My personal introduction to the study, the direct connection of commandments and blessings, and the foundation of my broad application of the revelations in the D&C to all of us as children of God.

Starting tomorrow we begin discussing individual commandments and blessings! See you then!

Formulas, laws, and blessings.

The Pythagorean Theorem

Formulas are tidy little arrangements of variables where, for example, to get "c" you must insert "a" and "b" no matter the time or place. Regardless of c's feelings concerning a or b, and despite a's concern at b's uncaring attitude toward c after b didn't invite c to the party, etc. Formulas are dependable. As long as you use the right formula in the right situations they will provide you with needed information.

Formulas are extremely helpful in many disciplines of study. But what about the gospel?

The application of the gospel is not one-size-fits-all. Every person is so drastically different and every situation is unique. Many gospel principles are left to the individual for interpretation and application. This is a huge, and somewhat controversial, topic for another day. But the point I am establishing is that the gospel in its application is not formulaic. But blessings are.

“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” D&C 130:20-21

Lets be honest, many of you probably read the first four words of that scripture, skimmed the rest, and skipped to this paragraph. I know I would have. But lets take a look at these verses in a little more detail.

"There is a law" - It doesn't say laws it says law. Singular. But then how are we to reconcile this with the fact that there are many laws in the scriptures. Just look at the ten commandments! There's ten right there and those certainly aren't all of them!

 The key is in the word law. In the modern English language the word law has become synonymous with the word rule or commandment; lists of things we're not supposed to do. But in the scriptures two specific laws are referenced. The Law of Moses and the Higher Law of Christ. These laws are titles for greater and more encompassing sets of commandments. A modern equivalent might be "law of the land" which refers to all of the governing laws of the country and states. So the word law as used in this verse is more akin to saying the "Law of God" or the entire set of rules and commandments established by God.

"irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world" - It's obvious that this "Law of God" was established in heaven long before the world upon which we now live had even begun to come into being. Meaning that all of us, being in attendance at the great Pre-Mortal council, were instructed in this Law and had knowledge of it before our coming to earth.

"upon which all blessings are predicated" - Predicated means "based on" or "derived." So all blessings, let me say that again "all blessings", still didn't get it? "all blessings (think about that for a second), which we can possibly receive are based on/derived from the Law of God. Now, deriving blessings from a set of sub-laws or commandments implies that there is specificity. Individual blessings are tied "irrevocably" to individual sub-laws. There are many facets to this concept. Some blessings are tied to multiple laws and some laws to multiple blessings, but, again, more topics for another time. The point here is to establish that specific blessings are tied to specific commandments.

"And when we obtain any blessing from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." - "ANY blessing" (comprehend that yet?) that we receive comes to us because of our obedience to some part of the Law of God.

Now hold on, some might say, what about those people who blatantly disregard the commandments of God, but instead of being "blessingless" they are born into great riches or acquire fame and fortune? All the while trampling the principles of righteousness? How is this reconciled?

In my own personal opinion there is contained within the Law of God the promised blessing of a perfectly equal testing for all of God's children who accept the Plan of Happiness and come to this mortal life. All mortal men and women on this earth accepted God's Plan and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Therefore, each and every one of us are entitled to equal testing in this life. God knows us more perfectly than we know ourselves and He distributes things such as wealth, beauty, and talents in such a manner as to give each of us that perfectly equal test. What some might see as the blessing of wealth, might actually be Gods test of a person's humility.

So,

The blessings we can receive are indeed formulaic though the gospel is not. When we obey a commandment of the Law of God we obtain the blessing which is predicated upon it. For "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10)
(It is also important to remember that the timing and the manner of fulfilment for these blessings will not always correspond with our personal timetables and desires.)

This is the basis for my study of the commandments and blessings found in the scriptures.

May you all find many blessings in your lives.

Andrew

I'd love to hear thoughts and different opinions. Feel free to comment and share!


(Looking for the full list of Commandments and Blessings of the Doctrine and Covenants? Click here!)

In The Beginning...

Months of effort, driven by the Spirit, burdened by glorious purpose, 52 pages, 400+ commandments and blessings later, and I was selfishly keeping it to myself.

But let me start from the beginning.

Like many young adults of my religion I set aside two years of my life when I turned 19 to go and preach the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I served my "mission" in the Micronesian Islands (the Micronesia Guam Mission) and returned around a year ago. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. A few of the highlights were the frequent use of machetes, the island foods, and watching lives change as people accepted the restored gospel pf Jesus Christ.

A few years before my mission I received a priesthood blessing in which I was counseled to study a book of scripture called The Doctrine and Covenants. By way of introduction, when Jesus Christ restored His church through the prophet Joseph Smith then, as you might guess, Joseph had many questions about the Lords will concerning His church. To start a church is one matter, but to restore the true church of Jesus Christ with all the ordinances, priesthoods, offices, and organizations that existed in the primitive church is another matter altogether. Joseph had many questions and frequently went to the Lord in prayer to learn His will concerning various matters. The Doctrine and Covenants (also called the D&C for short) is a record of the revelations that God gave to the prophet Joseph Smith.

I'll be the first to admit that the Doctrine and Covenants was not typically my scriptural book of choice. I frequently read out of the Book of Mormon and the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), but I hadn't made much of a study of the Doctrine and Covenants. As I sat on my bed one day thinking of how I should approach my study of the D&C I remembered something that my mom enjoyed doing while she read the scriptures. Look for the "if-then" statements. Frequently in the scriptures we find these little "If you keep the commandments then you will prosper in the land" type statements. I decided to read through the Doctrine and Covenants looking for all those commandments tied to blessings that the Lord gives us. I was 18 at the time.

At first it started out more casual than anything. I would be reading through verse after verse, occasionally zoning out as is typical of adolescents reading the scriptures, and then zoning back in and having to reread the last half-page or so to make sure I hadn't missed commandment tied to a blessing. When I found one I would record it in my study journal and then move on. But then something started to happen.

I started to get excited.

I was only a few sections into the D&C and I already had a few pages worth of commandments linked to blessings. An idea started to form in my mind. What if I were to find every "if-then" statement in the D&C and then write it all up? How many would there be? And so I dove in and started meticulously recording every C&B (Commandment and Blessing) that I could find. Little did i know just how big of a project I had started.

It started slow with about 15-20 minutes of study a day, writing my findings in my study journal and then transferring them into the computer in a table to make it more legible. But the further along I got the more excited I got as well. I began to feel that I was doing something unique and special. I felt the Spirit urging me along a little at a time helping me to keep pushing on month after month.

Finally after months and months of effort I was done. 52 typed pages, over 400 commandments and blessings. It was a huge effort and finally I was done. And it has amazed me ever since what I did with all this work next.

Nothing.

I didn't do anything with it.

A few months after finishing I left on my mission and the file of commandments and blessings sat on the computer collecting virtual dust for two years. Until now.

I have been back from my mission for over a year now. After some prayerful searching I have decided to start finding the commandments and blessings in the Book of Mormon, but what of these C&B from the D&C? Do I write a book? There's certainly enough unique material to do that. Do I publish it online for free? That'd be fine, but lets be honest, nobody's gonna read all 52 pages of these. It wouldn't be effective. So why not a blog?

I have some unique insights and thoughts from this extensive study that I want to share. It will be much more applicable and I will be able to share my personal experiences and testimony as well. 

Well you've made it all the way through this first post of the why and what for this Commandments and Blessings blog. I have a link here that will take you to my original work and compilation of the Commandments and Blessings of the Doctrine and Covenants

Enjoy!

Andrew