See God moving in majesty and power

Dear friend

I remember times when I was quite young, and it would be a clear but not too cold an evening. I would lie on the ground, on my back, looking upwards into the night sky. I would look up at all the stars, so many of them. Then I would look harder and see so many many more. I would try to stretch my finite mind towards comprehending the infinity that filled my vision, hoping for a glinting glimpse of galactic grandeur. I thought of each star being a glowing sun in its own system; a million million million of them (and that's just the visible Universe). It was truly awesome and I loved it.

I believe the scriptures encourage us to do a little "big thinking" every so often, so that we might contemplate the eternity on our doorstep. One such passage comes from Doctrine and Covenants 88:45-47.

45 The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God.
46 Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand?
47 Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power.

If we could travel through the expanse of space to see the stars closer up, we surely could not help but be overwhelmed by these massive spheroids. And as believers, how much more appreciative would it make us of the organisational omnipotence of the Being who created them all, without number?

It is all held in place by the power of Our God. The more we learn about His creative completeness, the more we see we have still more to learn. But even the merest morsel of understanding allows us to "see God moving in His majesty and power".

I hope that when you do your big thinking, it gives you a greater sense of the immense power and glory of God. And to think, in spite of all that work and responsibility, He still makes time for you and me.

Samuel.

Your sorrow shall be turned into joy

Dear friend

Despite our best efforts to avoid troubles and woes, they still happen. Our problems can get us down, sometimes very down. There is recorded in scripture an incident when the Saviour explained to some of His disciples that He would need to leave them for "a little while". He predicted how it would affect them (He knowing the horrific nature of His leaving). But He promised them joy in the end.

I believe we can apply the teaching from this situation to our own troubles, especially if they come upon us regardless of our genuine attempts to live righteously (or maybe at times because of our living the gospel). The key elements of the story come from the New Testament, John 16:20-22.

20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

How true of our woeful world that the troubles experienced by Christian peoples can be a source of merriment to the wicked. How comforting then to have the assurance that our sorrows will be turned to joy. The example of the woman in labour is so very real and relevant. It is sometimes described as the pain that is quickest to be forgotten. The joy at the arrival of a new life almost instantly swallows up the not inconsiderable pain of giving birth.

Our life on earth is short from the perspective of eternity. Pain is par for the course. But we can rejoice in the hope and assurance that we shall see our Saviour again. And as we try to follow His course while He is not personally, physically with us, there is the pleasurable prospect of a joyful reunion; a joy that can be ours forever. I pray that in our sorrows we will remember the joy to come.

Samuel.

Turn to the Lord for help

Dear friend

There will be times in all of our lives when we really need divine help. It will be that special kind of help that only God can provide. Our need may be due to sin, sorrow, pressure or pain. The good news is that He will help us find the respite of repentance, or the comfort of consolation, the relief of reinforcement, or the blessing of a balm. In this regard I love these words from the Old Testament, Joel 2:12, 13.

12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

What is there to learn from these wonderful verses about receiving God's help when we really need it? Firstly we should do it "now". The sooner we seek Him the sooner He can fix us. Second, when we do decide to turn to Him, do it "with all your heart". No half measures, no lingering desires for the wrong things, no presumption that you are too far gone, no doubts about either His power or your capacity for faith. Put your whole heart into becoming whole again. But be prepared because that may take fasting, or tears, or sorrow like mourning.

Rather than an outward show of emotional turmoil such as the ancient practice of rending (or tearing) your clothes in a public display, the Lord would much prefer it if our hearts are rent. I see this as being connected to the need for a broken heart and contrite spirit as we turn to Him for help beyond ourselves. Then comes the assurance, and what a promise it is: infinite and perfect grace, mercy, patience and kindness. The knowledge of this promise alone can begin to bring the peace and rest we seek. It is the light at the end of the tunnel.

I really do hope and pray that we avail ourselves of the saving powers of Jesus Christ. He is all mighty and all loving. Trust Him.

Samuel.

Sons and daughters of the Father

Dear friend

What would it be like to have the perfect relationship between ourselves, as the child, and Heavenly Father, as the parent? The relationship may already be there, but is it an ideal one? As with so many aspects of the gospel, the example of perfection in this regard is found in (and through) the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the point just after His greatest achievement, the Atonement, Christ announced himself to His followers in the New World; as found in the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 9:15-17.

15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.
16 I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled.
17 And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, ...

These verses give us an insight into the perfect Father/son or Father/daughter relationship. They also point the way towards achieving that blessed state. Like Jesus, we too can state our claim as children of God by virtue of Him being the Father of our spirits; although Christ's Sonship goes beyond that fundamental familial affinity. We too were with the Father in the beginning, but here's the question: are we now, at this time "in the Father" and can we sense "the Father in me"? Also, do we live our lives such that we bring glory to the name of the Father?

The way to reach that unity or "oneness" which is necessary for the Father to be in us and us in Him is to receive Jesus Christ fully into our lives, starting with believing in Him. He is the only one who has the power to elevate us to the kind of sonship or daughterhood that Christ Himself enjoys.

I feel sure the Father wishes to have the same closeness with us that He has with Jesus. And it is possible, if we seek it.

Samuel.

The idolatry of things

Dear friend

If you ask most people what they could not live without they might well list things like their smartphone, their car, their games console, their home computer, laptop or tablet, or some other possession. These sorts of things have become very useful, even enjoyable and convenient, or simply essential to our lives. But I think there is a danger that this kind of materialistic thinking - the pleasure of having "things" - is stopping people from recognising what is truly essential to a happy life. More than this, people are elevating these objects to a status of veneration that begins to match the behaviour of worship. If we adore, exalt, extol and praise these man-made things, I believe we are in danger of the charge of idolatry.

If we idolise something, if we treat it as a special treasure, this could indicate a false God has taken over our heart. Consider a verse from the Old Testament, Leviticus 19:4.

4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.

I've come to think of an idol as any man-made object we revere to excess. And I don't just mean statues or totems to which we might bow down, pray, or sacrifice to. If we lend some object a status of elevated respect, it begins to look like a verse from the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 21:17.

17 Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands;

We must not let ourselves worship the work of our hands. The reason is given in Doctrine and Covenants 1:16.

16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish ...

I hope we will be aware of the potential dangers of the idolatry of man-made things. No object should become so essential that it replaces God, gospel or goodness.

Samuel.

Like clay in the Potter's hands

Dear friend

Some of the best object lessons are found in the scriptures. I find it helpful when everyday items or situations are used to illustrate and simplify concepts that might otherwise be abstract or metaphysical. One such analogous aphorism is found in the Old Testament, Jeremiah 18:1-5.

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

We may consider ourselves to be of the house of Israel, either by lineage birth, or by adoption after accepting Christ and His kingdom on earth. Due to our spiritual limitations we might struggle to concretise concepts like us being in the hands of the Lord. How literal is that? Does being in His hands relate to control or protection or something else? How is being in His hands different, or not, from being in His eye, or His heart?

In these verses the Lord teaches Jeremiah, and us, something deeply meaningful, and I think comforting too, about how our God works with us. Like a potter He gently moulds the basic clay into something useful. It might be simple or ornate; the potter knows what is needed.

We too should aspire to be like clay in the Potter's hands; malleable, allowing the One who knows us better than we know ourselves to shape us. It has been well said that he can do more with our lives than we can do with them. If we make a mistake and become a marred vessel, He can figuratively and literally reform us.

I love the inspired image of us being like clay in the Potter's hands.

Samuel.

Nothing to gain from gainsaying

Dear friend

The ancient peoples that made up the children or house of Israel were given many promises. One of their opportunities was to be the means of blessing all the other people of the world as messengers or witnesses of God. Sadly Israel often spurned their chances to be chosen, electing instead to indulge in the practices of heathens. Perhaps recognising that in his day things had not changed much for Israel, the Apostle Paul spoke of them in the New Testament, Romans 10:21.

21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

"Disobedient" is a word with which we are sadly all too familiar, but "gainsaying" is one of those King James Version words long since dropped from modern parlance. It is defined as denying the truth, opposing, disputing, contradicting what is right. Gainsaying is a choice people make to rebel against an authority by refusing to accept what is true. A further, more descriptive treatment of gainsaying Israel is found in the Book of Mormon, Jacob 6:4-6.

4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.
6 Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?

Some truths are "inconvenient" or so it would appear, particularly if they tell us something we don't want to hear. In justifying their disobedience to some requirement people often try to suggest that the underlying principle of truth is somehow not correct. They block their need to comply by refusing to accept what they know deep down is right.

So let us learn the lesson of Israel's inconsistency and not harden our hearts by becoming gainsayers. Rather let us cleave to God with full purpose of heart. I pray that we will be true to truth and the only thing we deny is ungodliness.

Samuel.