Yesterday, today and forever

Dear friend

God is not bound by time the way we are. There is a hint as to His prolonged perspective in various verses of scripture. For example, He has a very different view of what constitutes "yesterday". This is illustrated in the Old Testament, Psalm 90:2, 4.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
...
4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past ...

We simply cannot look back on a millennium in the way He does. To us who are currently bound by earthly rotations a thousand years past is a huge piece of history. To him it is "as yesterday". Think how much we could achieve if our yesterday lasted a thousand years.

Of course for a Being who operates "from everlasting to everlasting", that ratio of one day to 365,250 days, is a trifling order of magnitude when compared to forever. And this is only the beginning of the Lord's use of yesterdays to teach us of His eternal nature. A common concept of His continuation is typified by a verse in the Book of Mormon, Mormon 9:9.

9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?

I draw great comfort and confidence from the thought that God is perfectly consistent, completely reliable, unchangingly amazing. He is the same person without variableness; no mood swings, no bad days. We find Him always loving, always patient, always ready to bless us, always open armed. From such an One we can be assured of His unwavering commitment to our happiness and wellbeing.

He is without doubt a Being not restricted by temporal terra firma. This is majestically confirmed in Doctrine and Covenants 35:1, 2.

1 Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever.
2 I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one.

I hope we will always retain in remembrance the eternal greatness of God. He is as wonderful today as he was yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, ad infinitum.

Samuel.

Know yourself

Dear friend

The terse directive to "know yourself" is nowadays not always offered as sound advice, but as a rejoinder or even a put-down. (As in, "You think I'm the one overreacting? Well you need to 'know yourself' my friend".) It turns out the maxim, or aphorism, to "know thyself" (gnothi seauton) is of ancient origin. Back then it was seen as a lifelong aspiration, a personal pursuit for ultimate understanding.

So then, how well do you know yourself/thyself? What is your essence, your substantive self; meaning those core components that make you you? Who and what are you, fundamentally?

A great starting point from which to answer these existential questions is found in Doctrine and Covenants 93:33-35.

33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
35 The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple.

The reductionist would approve of the idea that the elements are the core stuff that come together to form our physical body, our tabernacle, us. This includes the lowly dust of the earth, the minerals, water, proteins, fats, and the rest, right down to cells, and then to the literal elements of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and more. At one level that is what we are, an organism, a well organised collection of mainly organic material. But surely we are more than the sum total of a bunch of chemicals, topped up by essential food groups. "You are what you eat" only goes as far as the body, mostly. So is that how we should see ourselves, as just a chemical concoction?

No, our true essence is that of spirit. In trying to comprehend spirit formulation, I imagine the substance of spirit as being a highly refined material of far greater quality and purity than earthly element; completely transcendent of coarse physical terrestrial matter. Yet these two, spirit and element, are necessarily both eternal. Indeed, for the man or woman to have full joy, we learn there must be an "inseparable connection" between body and spirit. This must mean both a resurrection to immortality and an exaltation to the highest glory, since that is the only opportunity for complete perfect endless happiness.

The optimal state of our existing is then, a fully developed spirit in a fully perfected body. At this point while residing on earth, we are practicing this conjoined condition in preparation for forever. A key task is to keep the body/temple clean. Our body belongs to God so we need to be tidy tenants and obedient occupants. Plus, if we inherit our bodies at some time in the future, we want them to be in as good a condition as possible. I believe such corporeal purity is a function of the spirit using the body in increasingly and exclusively more excellent ways. We don't want our temple destroyed by dishevelled disobedience.

I think knowing yourself involves knowing "Who's" you are before you can know who you are. To know thyself also includes seeing beyond our current reality of mortal limitations and forward to what we are destined to be.

Samuel.

Preserving our soul

Dear friend

The word "soul" is one of those words used in scripture that can have different meanings. Soul can mean:

- a premortal or postmortal spirit being (that is not in a physical body of some kind), or
- a spirit and body united in the mortal state (our life now), or
- an immortal resurrected person whose spirit and body are connected never to be separated.

The different meanings can be worth pondering over in certain scriptural contexts, such as from Doctrine and Covenants 101:35-38.

35 And all they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory.
36 Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.
37 Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.
38 And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life.

This revelation came in an environment of extreme persecution facing the Lord's people. They were suffering terribly for their faith. They were enduring threats, loss of possessions, assaults and even mortal danger. The Lord chose that moment to teach them a hard but overall comforting lesson. He said that losing your life for the Lord opens the door to His glory. And that divine door is a portal to the fullness of joy; whereas in mortality the ultimate joy is simply not available.

The Lord then explains a stark perspective. It is our soul that we must care for most particularly, not the body. The mortal manifestation of terrestrial life, our earthly body, is not nearly as important to preserve as is our soul. It is inevitable that the mortal body will die at some point, but our essential spirit is immortal. So our spirit/body "soul" should be our core concern. And I see this as meaning our prospective eternal soul.

Sometimes we just need to be patient through mortal trials; even though at the time that can be asking a lot. If we concern ourselves with always seeking the Lord’s face then our soul will find that most desirable joy, and rest from our trials, in a glorious eternal life.

So preserving life is important, but saving souls is crucial, especially our own.

Samuel.