Jesus Christ is the Light

Dear friend

One of the most accessible analogies found throughout scripture is that of Jesus Christ being associated with some form of light. Typical of this genre is a verse from the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 22:29.

29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

In a time without electricity, lamps were essential resources and easily applied as an object lesson. There can be few better connections to make than linking the Lord to light. Other examples include:

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; ... (Psalm 27:1)

5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:5)

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
...
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:4, 5, 9)

14 ... Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Ephesians 5:14)

24 Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up ... (3 Nephi 18:24)

12 ... I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world. (Ether 4:12)

9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. (Doctrine and Covenants 93:9)

Unlike those of old, we do have electricity and it powers all kinds of light emitting devices. But we still need His Light, the Light, just as much as the people of former times.

Glory, as a feature of godliness, is always brilliant. Darkness is anathema. His glory is bright, illuminating, spectacular. Light, especially divine light, brings knowledge, clarity, healing and salvation.

I hope we will always be drawn to the Light. I pray that His presence in our person allows His Light to shine through us so that others may see it and apportion the glory of it to our Father in Heaven. Like a brightly burning lamp inside us, let His Light shine through you.

Samuel.

Bow before God

Dear friend

During the horrendous torture of the Lord by the Roman soldiers, not only did they inflict wounds to His holy body, they also ridiculed Him. This is recorded in the New Testament, Matthew 27:29

29 And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

It is interesting to note that they "bowed the knee" in dramatised derision as part of their scoffing sarcasm. The act of bowing in front of an authority figure is as old as time. While Christ truly was a king, in this case it was applied contemptuously; but remember, they knew not what they were doing.

Another example of bowing comes from the incident when Nephi was miraculously released from his bonds after his brothers tied him up and plotted his death. When others intervened the brothers realised the gravity of their evil plot. Their attempted apology is found in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 7:20.

20 And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, because of their wickedness, insomuch that they did bow down before me, and did plead with me that I would forgive them of the thing that they had done against me.

The brothers used the act of obeisance, accompanied with pleading, to show the apparent depth of their repentant sincerity. If only they had been willing to show such desperate deferential respect to their God.

Bowing before royalty is still culturally commonplace; albeit many republican thinking people refuse. They cite that all men are equal. If only we all realised the vast inequality between mankind and God. Then the humility of bowing would come easily. This is simply and sweetly said in the Old Testament, Psalm 95:6.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

It is our privilege to be subject to God. Let us never feel that bowing is beneath us. We owe everything to Him. Bowing is a small act of humble, loving recognition.

Samuel.

Have a good day

Dear friend

Are you having a good day or a bad day? How do you decide, or is it the events of the day itself which make that determination for you? If so, then do you just go along with it?

Some people seem to have a good day every day, even when in our opinion they would be justified in letting themselves enjoy a bit of gloom. Maybe they have read and applied this lovely verse from the Old Testament, Psalm 118:24.

24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

I love that verse. I just wish I applied it on more days. Each day is a gift from God. Each day we get to be alive for 24 more hours. He makes each day possible for you and me. We can set the tone of each God-given day by saying, "I WILL rejoice and be glad in it". It is a matter of us using our will, our choice. If we let ourselves think about it that way, His way, then why not?

But apart from simply telling ourselves at the start of each day that we're going to have a good one, how can we improve the chances of that actually happening; or of us sticking to our morning mantra, come what may?

There may be a few ways of helping ourselves to a diet of gooddayness. These ways might involve how we dress, what we eat, and the things we prioritise. One sure way to have joy every day is taught in Doctrine and Covenants 11:13.

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;

It may be that simple; get the Spirit in you. Our Father gives us the Spirit if we live our lives so that He can dwell in us. We should know what we need to be doing, or not doing, to have the Spirit to guide us. So not only is each day a gift of another bit of life from God, but also the means to make the most of each day is provided by providence.

It is God's desire that we have joy in this life. It is also His desire that we learn from the trials of life how to trust in Him and prove ourselves worthy of eternal joy. Our "bad days" are our growing days.

Samuel.

Understanding God's mysteries

Dear friend

Astronomy can be described as the study of the celestial sphere. I wonder how many astronomers appreciate the fuller meaning of that phrase? The more I come to understand about astronomy the more I realise how little mankind yet knows about the Universe. I sometimes feel the same during my studies of God and His doctrines. There is just so much I don't know, yet.

Thank goodness for the revelations of God; the scriptures, the words of His Prophets, and the Spirit confirming truth. The dilemma of our capacity to discover "the mysteries of godliness" is described really well in the Book of Mormon, Jacob 4:8.

8 Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.

There seems to be a limit on how much we can comprehend of the Divine, at least while in mortality. Certainly if we rely only on our own investigative powers we may only scratch the surface. We cannot get to the core without help.

One answer to the question of overcoming our intellectual limitations when learning about God and His ways comes from these wonderful verses from the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11.

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

This Pauline wisdom is so comforting, but it is also challenging. I hope we can progress our pondering of God's mysteries through having His Spirit in us. I pray our desire to know God is motivated by our love of God.

Samuel.

Responding to correction

Dear friend

Nobody likes to be told off. As children chastening might well have made us cry. As adults we too might feel sorrowful, even tearful, but we also could choose to feel annoyed, disrespected, revengeful, or recalcitrant. Maybe it's a pride thing, or at best it may be our sensitivity to perceived injustice, but either way correction is usually hard to take. It rarely makes us happy.

So how do we respond to divine discipline? Or how should we respond? The scriptures are not silent on this matter. We read in the Old Testament, Proverbs 3:11, 12.

11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:
12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

This makes me think of the story of two boys. The one who had what he considered "strict" parents said to his friend, "You're so lucky. You're parents let you do anything you want." To which the other replied, "Well at least your parents care about what you do".

It is comforting to ponder the care and attention our Heavenly Parents heap on us, including any necessary chastening. It is a sign of their concern and love. They desire to delight in us and they know how that is to be achieved.

Further familial counsel comes from the Old Testament again, this time from Job 5:17.

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

So not only should we not despise our God (or His servants) when we receive a rebuke, either softly or sharply, (when moved upon by the Spirit in the case of Church leaders or our parents), not only is despising the wrong response, so is any other negative reaction wrong. In fact it is quite the reverse. We should be happy.

Now that might be easy to say. But I hope we take time to reflect before we react to chastening. I pray we will see correction as a positive experience; a necessary part of mortality. The phrase "it's for your own good could not be truer".

Samuel.

The devil seeks our destruction

Dear friend

I do not really like spending precious scripture study or meditation time on the topic of the devil. But sometimes it is useful to remind ourselves of the devil and his purposes.

Lucifer is the one who sought his own glory and so fell in that time before time. He is the one who wanted to rob us of agency. He is the one who caused a war in heaven that drew a third of the spirits after him. He is the one who has been called the Father of all Lies. He is the source of every evil and wickedness. He is our mortal and spiritual enemy. He is extremely dangerous and he should be avoided at every turn.

As we go through life, we don't want to live every moment as if devil danger were just round the corner. God's will is that we enjoy peace and happiness. However, because of Satan we must always be on our guard against his enticements, false joys, easy options and subtle suggestiveness. Just such a warning is expressed in the New Testament, 1 Peter 5:8.

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

To be sober in this sense is to be serious about serious things, to have the capacity for thoughtfulness and solemnity when necessary, and to be in full control of our passions and faculties. Soberness avoids frivolity and lightmindedness.

To be vigilant is to be always aware, to be on the look out, prepared, consistent, ready to respond righteously. Vigilance avoids apathy and carelessness.

We should never, ever underestimate the devil and his deviousness. The imagery from the verse is accurate. Satan prowls over the earth like a proud lion, bellowing his self-importance. He wants to destroy every soul he can; devouring the unprepared and unprotected.

It is so important that we recognise Satan's usually well disguised traps and not fall into them; we must not.

I pray we will be sober and vigilant in defence against the devil. We can have the power to overcome him if we ask God to help us.

Samuel.

Faith brings forgiveness

Dear friend

It is wonderful to contemplate the opportunity of being healed from our illnesses by faith. Especially on those occasions when Jesus Christ was personally on the earth, but many other times too, we can read of the blind beholding, the deaf discerning, the lame leaping, the barren bearing. All on account of faith.

As if this feature of faith wasn't alone sufficiently awesome, we may also ponder how faith is the key component of other miraculous manifestations. One of these is explained quite beautifully in the life of the Prophet Enos.

Enos was one day pondering the prospect of eternal life. Maybe we've all done that at some time. He realised his life was not  sufficiently right with God. His soul "hungered" for a remission of his sins. He remembered the teachings of his father about Jesus Christ, and he began to pray, all day as it happens. The story continues in the Book of Mormon, Enos 1:5-8.

5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?
8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.

"Lord, how is it done?" Besides the healing of our sicknesses, the key to obtaining forgiveness of our sins is again faith, specifically faith in Christ. Faith can heal our bodies. Faith can also heal our souls.

Forgiveness through faith sits among the most fundamental teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our faith can make us whole. How great, how glorious, how perfect.

I pray that we make use of this cleansing power of restored wholeness every day. And if we need to fix something in our lives that is more pressing, that we do it soon. Christ is waiting with loving open arms, He always is.

Samuel.

Wisdom and understanding

Dear friend

As a child I remember seeing the films based on the tales of the Arabian Nights; The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and perhaps my favourite, Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp. We would often speculate about how we would use our three wishes. "All the money in the world" was a popular starter. "As many wishes as I want" was a bit smarter.

King Solomon was asked what gift ("wish") he wanted from God. He chose wisdom (which to us same children seemed pretty boring). However, for the most part it was an inspired choice by the third King of Israel. Many of the Proverbs are thought to originate from Solomon. And many of the Proverbs are about the topic of wisdom. Such an one is found in the Old Testament, Proverbs 2:10, 11.

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

There seems to be something serene about wisdom. It is never boastful, ostentatious or flaunted. It is also never demeaning, overpowering or forced. Part of the wisdom of wisdom seems to be it's gentle assurance and peaceful self-confidence. People in the company of a wise person shouldn't feel intimidated, despite the different endowment of light and truth.

Having a heart embellished with wisdom and a soul delighted by understanding is surely a state to be desired. It is not about seeking superiority, after all, that would be unwise. It is not about intellectual prowess; the test of this life is not passed by sitting an exam. It is about personal development, especially spiritual development.

I think it is connected to receiving the inner peace that Christ offers. As we correctly apply the knowledge with which we have been blessed, we demonstrate meek wisdom.

I hope that through being wise we will exhibit the understated trait of discretion. I pray that through knowledge we will benefit from understanding that keeps us stable, safe and spiritually secure.

Karl.

In the valley of decision

Dear friend

Not too much is known about the Prophet Joel. There is even uncertainty about when he lived. But he is quoted by Peter, Moroni and is likely a reference point in Revelations. His writing coincides with a time of severe drought in the land.

Joel's main theme is the era of the last days prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. He describes it as a time when there will be a "drought of joy" among mankind, but also a great outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord. These conditions mean that in terms of the battle for the souls of men "the harvest is ripe"; while the Lord sits to plead and to judge. These are our days being described in ancient scripture.

Joel refers to a place, the valley of Jehoshaphat, as the site of a massive international gathering. Then he gives the valley an alternative, characterised name that is worth considering. It comes from the Old Testament, Joel 3:14.

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

What a great image. The peoples of the wicked world are brought together in the "valley of decision". The thought can easily be extended. The people of the world must decide where they stand; on the right or the left, on the Lord's side or somewhere else.

It always, always comes down to a decision. Do we choose the right, or another way? Do we allow Jesus Christ to be our Guide, or do we follow another course. These choices are so significant. They set the direction for our lives.

In our day the Prophet Thomas S Monson has said, "decisions determine destiny". How concise yet precise is this doctrine. There is always that critical moment of choice. There is always an unavoidable consequence. We surely need inspired men on earth now to guide us in our decisions so that they bring us to Christ.

I hope that in our own valleys of decision we will make the right choices. I pray that our preferred choice of destiny will, in reverse, determine our decisions.

Samuel.

Chains in the scriptures

Dear friend

The scriptures are full of symbolism. Possessions, places and people have all been used to represent a concept and teach doctrine. Depending on the context, an object in one analogy may stand for something good, but in another place it will be a negative association.

Such is the case with "chains". Chains may not play so great a part in our lives these days, but in older scripture times they were commonplace and used in all kinds of ways.

One example is from the Old Testament, Genesis 41:42.

42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

Joseph so impressed Pharaoh that he was made ruler of all Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. The chain in this incident was made of gold and represented the vested authority given to Joseph. It set him apart from his fellows in status and power. In many cultures community leaders such as mayors still wear gold chains of office.

As suggested, there are other scripture teaching uses for the chains concept. Indeed prior to meeting Pharaoh, Joseph was all too familiar with another of them; chains of incarceration.

This alternative application of analagousness can be discovered in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 1:13.

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.

Here the prophet-father Lehi is pleading with his wayward sons to escape from the spiritual chains that are holding them back. These chains represent the effects of sin or resistent inaction. They bind us down, and if not shaken off will lead to our inescapable captivity in the hell of unhappiness.

These days the closest most of us get to an actual chain may be to display a small item of jewellery round our neck. But these scriptural chains are still in effect. Our task is to discern the difference then seek the one while resisting the other.

It is my hope that we always avoid the hellish chains of sin. And while we may not seek the gold option, I pray that God may instead place chains of approval and acceptance around our necks.

Samuel.

Beautifully gray

Dear friend

Quoting the phrase, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", is often the way a conversation ends when two people can't agree on whether or not something is aesthetically pleasing. In a related but rather different vein there is also the comment that a person has "inner beauty", which usually suggests, by faint praise, that they may be a nice person but they lack skin-deep good looks. Certainly concepts of what counts as beauty are not fixed to a universally agreed single standard.

An interesting insight into beauty comes from the Old Testament, Proverbs 20:29.

29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.

It isn't often in modern times that gray hair would be described as a feature of beauty. There are a few men whose maturation towards gray has not seemingly diminished their appeal, but these are surely the exceptions. Gray hair in men is usually seen as a problem to be disfavoured and even disguised; for women even more so.

Culturally, there are extreme examples such as elongated necks, lip bowls, bound feet, scarification and other modifications that are beauty enhancing in their own context. In more Western leaning societies beauty is increasingly fakery, with a reliance on products and treatments to obtain an idealised concept of beauty.

Returning to the scripture verse, maybe it would be useful to reconsider and re-establish the naturalised beauty of older adults. With the gray often comes experience, insight, wisdom, and thoughtfulness, and these surely all have value, and a form of beauty, when set against today's cult of youth.

I hope we can not only appreciate the older generation, but really see the beauty in lines and creases, in work-textured knarled hands, and yes in gray hair. I pray that we can accept ageing as a positive progressive process; and leave our longing for eternal youth until the Resurrection.

Samuel.

Abundance, an opportunity to give

Dear friend

One of the blessings of righteous gospel living can be an increase in material wealth (although certainly not always). There are numerous examples of God and His prophets promising great harvests, growing flocks and groaningly full fishing nets. Abundance can be more than just spiritual.

After the Lord gave the Parable of the Sower, He made a comment that seems more fitting as an explanation of the Parable of the Talents. The verse is from the New Testament, Matthew 13:12.

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

The Lord was actually talking about our ability and openness to understand truth, whether taught by parables or some other way. So, the concept of abundance can also relate to gospel knowledge.

Returning to a more practical consideration, the Apostle Paul taught how we should use any extra means we have. This verse is from 2 Corinthians 8:14.

14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:

Here then is a social order aimed at meeting each other's needs. The method for helping those in want is based on your "ability to give". And it works both ways if you are the one in want. This perhaps sounds idealistic from the perspective of today's greedy and selfish world.

However, in modern times the Lord has emphasised His expectations, as found in Doctrine and Covenants 104:18.

18 Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.

I hope we will be willing givers of our abundances, be they financial, spiritual or gospel knowledge-based. Because we never know when we might be in need of a share of someone else's abundance.

Samuel.

Emotion: a divine attribute

Dear friend

One of the great Old Testament patriarchs, Enoch, was given an amazingly personalised divine insight into the future of mankind on earth. It was not a pleasant prospect to behold. One particular verse of scripture expresses the effect on Enoch of witnessing how badly mortal men would abuse their world, each other, and their God's commandments.

This particular experience of Enoch's is recorded in greater detail in the Pearl of Great Price, Moses 7:41.

41 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook.

Enoch was moved to tears by the misery and wickedness that people were capable of. I can imagine his emotion causing him to extend his arms in exasperation. He would have known all about the chances given to men on earth to choose the better way, but they would not.

The verse describes how internally Enoch's heart swelled and his innards yearned, "and all eternity shook". I think we might be able to identify and empathise with Enoch due to our own emotional responses when we see misery, cruelty, unfairness, suffering, loss of innocence and all the other deep sadnesses of mortality.

I believe it is a godly trait to "feel" another's pain. It was certainly the main function of the Atonement of Christ. He felt our pains and suffering; all at once.

I hope we can understand the necessity of our emotionality. I pray it helps us understand what Our Father goes through when we sin and suffer; and especially when He allowed His Only Begotten Son to suffer to an infinite and eternal extent.

Samuel.

The symbolism of baptism

Dear friend

Every so often I read something in the scriptures that is just so well written, just so instructive, just so inspired. These verses fit that description, from the New Testament, Romans 6:3-7.

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

The Apostle Paul begins with a statement to get his audience's attention. He is developing his doctrinal discourse to explain the changes that occur at baptism.

Firstly he compares baptism to death and resurrection. We are buried under the water. Our old self dies. In its place, rising up out of the water, is our cleansed self; as we might imagine a resurrected being emerges from the grave. There is a lovely phrase that we "walk in the newness of life". How wonderful to contemplate.

There is the hint of a second analogy, that of us being "planted" in the likeness of death (buried). Again we then come forth like a resurrection.

Then there is a third, more stark and deathly image, that of Christ's crucifixion. Our old sinful self is nailed to the beam and left there, destroyed. While our new freed-from-sin self is released from the weight of our mortal misdeeds.

The rite of baptism is hugely symbolic. But at the core is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer. His death, resurrection and Atonement make baptism meaningful and effective.

I pray we will always remember Him for opening the entry gate (baptism) on to the pathway to God's Kingdom (eventual eternal salvation).

Samuel.