Dedicating our whole self to God

Dear friend

When a building is constructed as a place for serving and worshipping God, it is common for a special ceremony or service to take place. This is often called a Dedication Service. Such an event is to signify that, unlike other buildings, this particular building has a devout divine designation. It is given over to spiritual affairs and activities. While other properties may be assigned for use in commerce, or as workplaces, or educational venues or leisure facilities, those especially sacred spaces are wholly committed to God's work.

An obvious example is the dedication of a temple, as in the Old Testament, 1 Kings 8:63.

63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

Although there is not currently a requirement to incorporate ritual sacrificing in our ceremonies, the principles underpinning dedication are the same in modern times; unreserved commitment of the entire edifice to Godly goals. The object remains the same down the ages. It is the setting apart from other constructions those special buildings consecrated to God for His work and glory.

Central to the ceremony is the Dedicatory Prayer. King Solomon himself offered that prayer (prior to the demise of the oxen and sheep). In this dispensation the Prophet Joseph Smith offered such a prayer at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, including this verse from Doctrine and Covenants 109:78.

78 O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord! And answer these petitions, and accept the dedication of this house unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built unto thy name;

But often the dedication of a place can be extended to include the dedication of a people, especially those people who will work and worship within the walls. So how is the dedicating of the disciple achieved? I think one of the best summaries describing dedicatory desire comes from Doctrine and Covenants 4:2.

2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

"Heart, might, mind and strength"; surely that means everything. All our desire and passions, all our power, all our intellect, and all our capacities, literally everything. Yes it is a "big ask", but it is a little ask alongside the "big give" of the Atonement. And it doesn't mean we have an excuse to stop regular life activities such as work or schooling to be exclusively engaged in Church work. Rather, we do our divine dedicating while doing our daily do; "in the world but not of the world".

I hope we can be a person/place that is increasingly dedicated to the glory of God. I pray we are determined to get better each day; better by giving over just a bit more of ourselves to the Lord. It takes dedication to achieve dedication.

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.