Thoughts on “Succor”

I haven’t written on this blog for a long time. Hopefully you all have the same aol email addresses that you signed up with originally.

Just wanted to share thoughts on a couple of favorite Book of Mormon passages.

Alma 7:12-13 (how do you do an en dash on this thing, man?): “And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

“Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.”

Alma 9:26: “And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.”

Wow, those have to be two of the best passages in all the scriptures. This is the Jesus we believe in. Amazing!

The first passage says that Christ knows (according to the flesh and the Spirit) how to “succor his people.” The verb “succor” basically means to aid, to relieve, to help. So Christ knows perfectly from experience how to help and relieve us, his people. That itself is pretty cool, no? Looking into the history of this word adds so much. “Succor” comes from a Latin verb meaning “to run to the rescue.” (Think of English words like current, courier, course–they have the same root. Some other languages got words with the Latin root also. In French, “to run” is “courir.” In Spanish and Portuguese it is “correr.” In Italian it is “correre.”)

So with a Lord who succors us, we have a Lord who not only knows how to “help” or “aid” or “relieve” us, but who wants to and who does RUN to help us. What a great scene to imagine in our minds. Think of the parable of the lost sheep. Christ is not only looking for the one lost sheep; he is running after it. He is RUNNING after you, me, our friend, our son, our brother, our sister. A year or two ago, a friend of mine had a daughter come home from a mission. As seen in the video of the return, as soon as the daughter got beyond the security area in the airport, the mother went running toward the daughter. The dad, understandably, stood there watching on, but the mother was running. That is how Christ is vis a vis us.

Verse 26 of Alma 9 makes a similar point–the Son of God is “quick” to hear our cries and to “answer” them. He is also full of virtues such as mercy, patience, and grace that motivate him in all that he does. Wow, what a friend! And what a God!

Some practical thoughts as we go through difficult times:

1. To know Jesus *chose* to suffer can be helpful to us in its own right. He is not someone who gives the tough work to someone else while he revels in luxury. He is right there alongside us–before, behind, lifting up from beneath.
2. It is helpful to know that he *wants* to help us. Apparently he could have relied on the Spirit to know how to succor us. But he went beyond so he could know according to the flesh. He wants to help us and *he knows* how to help us–in part because he has been through the same things we are going through (either as part of his mortal life or through his suffering in the garden).
3. I think he sends friends and family and others to help. A phone call or text from someone checking on us–that is like Christ checking on us.
4. I think he can give us ideas for how to deal with our challenges. For example, if someone is dealing with a chronic illness, I think he can provide us with inspiration to try a new treatment. For sure I believe his spirit and light influence medical research and discoveries.
5. I think he can send the Spirit to buoy us up and to provide comfort to those suffering and their caregivers. He can provide hope to keep going.
6. I think he also lets us suffer because he knows more than we do how much we can take. We are stronger than we know.

Thoughts offered with love, from Eric.

Prophetic Promises for Reading the Book of Mormon

Modern-day prophets and apostles have identified many blessings that will come into our lives if we regularly read, study, and ponder the Book of Mormon. These promises are so powerful! I have compiled a few quotations here that have particularly touched me. As I read and reread these quotations, I wonder why I am sometimes so lazy about reading the Book of Mormon. I really need these blessings in my life! And I have felt and realized many of these when I have regularly read and pondered the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith: “Joseph [Smith] said the Book of Mormon was the most correct book of any book on earth & the keystone of our religion & and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than any other book.” (Multivolume manuscript history, vol. A-1, p. 34.)

Russell M. Nelson, President of the Twelve: “My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.” (“The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?” Saturday afternoon session, Oct. 2017 general conference. Ensign, Nov. 2017.)

Russel M. Nelson, member of the Twelve: “Each individual who prayerfully studies the Book of Mormon can also receive a testimony of its divinity. In addition, this book can help with personal problems in a very real way. Do you want to get rid of a bad habit? Do you want to improve relationships in your family? Do you want to increase your spiritual capacity? Read the Book of Mormon! It will bring you closer to the Lord and His loving power. He who fed a multitude with five loaves and two fishes—He who helped the blind to see and the lame to walk—can also bless you! He has promised that those who live by the precepts of this book “shall receive a crown of eternal life.” (“A Testimony of the Book of Mormon.” Sunday morning session, Oct. 1999 general conference. Ensign, Nov. 1999.)

Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church (final general conference address): “My dear associates in the work of the Lord, I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives. I so testify with all my heart in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” (“The Power of the Book of Mormon.” Sunday morning session. Apr. 2017 general conference. Ensign, May 2017.)

Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church (in his challenge to the membership to read or reread the Book of Mormon): “Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.” (“A Testimony Vibrant and True.” Ensign, Aug. 2005.)

Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Church: “There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called ‘the words of life,’ and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance.

“Our beloved brother, President Marion G. Romney, who celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday last month and who knows of himself of the power that resides in this book, testified of the blessings that can come into the lives of those who will read and study the Book of Mormon. He said:

I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity—the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness.

“These promises—increased love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness—are not idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God.” (“The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion.” Saturday morning session, Oct. 1986 general conference. Ensign, Nov. 1986.)

Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Twelve: “Now, we have not been using the Book of Mormon as we should. Our homes are not as strong unless we are using it to bring our children to Christ. Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, organic evolution, rationalism, humanism, etc. Our missionaries are not as effective unless they are “hissing forth” with it. Social, ethical, cultural, or educational converts will not survive under the heat of the day unless their taproots go down to the fulness of the gospel which the Book of Mormon contains. Our Church classes are not as spirit-filled unless we hold it up as a standard. And our nation will continue to degenerate unless we read and heed the words of the God of this land, Jesus Christ, and quit building up and upholding the secret combinations which the Book of Mormon tells us proved the downfall of both previous American civilizations.” (“The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God.” Saturday afternoon session, Apr. 1975 general conference. Ensign, May 1975.)

Neil L. Andersen, of the Presidency of the Seventy: “Do you desire more peace in your life and for your family? Would you change something you are doing in your life if you could have more of the Savior’s peace?

“The Book of Mormon is a wellspring of peace to the thirsty soul. It is a great purveyor of the Savior’s peace. The introduction to the Book of Mormon explains that the book tells us what we must do “to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come” (emphasis added).

“Counting the ways the Book of Mormon brings peace to the soul is like counting the sand on the seashore. Let me discuss a few of the ways, allowing you to multiply the list by your own experience.” (“The Book of Mormon: The Great Purveyor of the Savior’s Peace.” Ensign, Jan. 2008.)

A Friend’s Faith Journey

Recently I had lunch with some classmates and friends from college. The last time I had seen one of them a few years ago, he had talked about his faith crisis at that time. So at the recent lunch I asked where his journey had taken him, if he was comfortable talking about it. He excitedly talked of how his faith had been rekindled and of how he had recently been rebaptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He talked movingly about how the decision to return was prompted because of how much he needed and wanted God in his life. With his permission, I share his story as he shared it online in March 2019.

Well, I’ve decided to take the necessary steps to get rebaptized. If you are interested in knowing more about my story and my current views, I invite you to read the synopsis below. Many of us have gone through serious faith transitions. If my thoughts might be helpful, I am sharing them.

The seeds of doubt first started to sink in when I read Grant Palmer’s book, “An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins.” After that, I became deeply concerned about Church history and the inaccurate narratives I had grown up believing. I spent years reading and listening to very intelligent, thoughtful materials that created deep cynicism in me about the foundational truth claims of the LDS Church, including, without limitation, Todd Compton’s book (In Sacred Loneliness), Fawn Brodie’s book (No Man Knows My History), Jeremy Runnells’ works (The CES Letter, and its updated version), dozens of Mormon Stories Podcasts hosted by John Dehlin, and books by Denver Snuffer. I felt compelled, even obsessed, with discovering “the truth.” I read just about everything there is to be read about the troubling aspects of Church History (polygamy, blacks in the priesthood, the Book of Abraham, Section 132, Book of Mormon historicity and “face in the hat” translation, missing DNA evidence, and the different accounts of the First Vision, just to name a few).

I was 36 years old when this process started. At that time, I was a High Priest. I had served a very faithful mission; and I had diligently served in many callings in the Church (Elder’s Quorum President; Young Men’s President; Stake High Council; etc.).

I am a lawyer by training and profession. Over the last 20 years, I’ve taken countless depositions and taken many cases all the way through trial in state and federal courts. For a living, I have become skilled in pointing out inconsistencies, calling into question people’s truthfulness, and determining what evidence is credible (and what isn’t). I am good at exposing the lies and half-truths of people involved in litigation. That, in part, is why so many of the above-referenced materials about church history resonated with me and my analytical mind.

I went through a variety of emotional and intellectual reactions to these materials: shock, disbelief, anger, feelings of betrayal, sadness, and dismay. At one point, I was so bothered by it all that I considered paying for a large billboard to be placed at a busy intersection stating something like “Have you read the CES Letter yet?”

I quickly learned that most of the active LDS members in my sphere of influence simply did not want to read the materials I was reading, or learn the information I was learning. They preferred to stay ignorant (as I saw it), and did not want to learn things that might disrupt their lives or cause them to consider the unthinkable.

But I also had some friends and acquaintances who were going through the same process I was, and we would often discuss the information we were learning and compare notes about our so-called “faith crisis.” It was a coping mechanism, if nothing else, to talk about our discoveries and concerns together.

I’m now 48 years old. My life has gone through dramatic changes during the last 12 years, including inactivity in the Church, many sins, divorce, remarriage, and excommunication.

During the last 12 years, I acquired a taste for alcohol and coffee, but I have come to realize that the enjoyable aspects of those substances are not worth the after-effects they cause me (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually).

I’ve also learned that in my life, reading and thinking about the materials and Church issues I’ve described does not bring me peace, joy, satisfaction, or happiness. To the contrary, they have caused feelings of frustration, anger, negativity, cynicism, and even despair. They are not uplifting or positive. For me, they led to an endless downward spiral of doubts and spiritual darkness.

Over a year ago, I decided I wanted to confess my sins to my Bishop and start the repentance process. That process resulted in my excommunication from the LDS Church.

My 1-year excommunication period is now over. During the last several months, I have felt renewed spiritual feelings of faith and hope. I have read and pondered faith-promoting materials and scriptures. I have recognized that my life is in need of spiritual rebirth. I have missed the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and I long to get it back.

I have felt a desire in my heart to be re-baptized, and enter into a new covenant with the Lord to serve Him and keep His commandments. I want and need His influence more fully in my life.

Robert Millet’s book, “Whatever Happened to Faith?” has helped me focus more on having faith, and not letting my intellectual mind (natural man) dominate my views. I have realized that faith, even in the face of well-founded concerns about Church history, can take root and grow. The Apostle Paul said it best – God reveals the deep things of God by His Spirit. God teaches “not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2: 10-14.

After everything I have experienced over the last 12 years, I have come away with a few foundational truths of my own: truths that I believe and hold firmly. They include, first and foremost, that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I have felt the effects of his Atonement in my life. I have felt the burdens of sin lifted from my Soul because of Him. Without Him, those burdens of sin would remain in place. I don’t understand the science or technicalities of how the Atonement works, but I know that it does.

Second, I know that I feel more happiness and fulfillment when I serve people in need, when I help people solve problems, when I show kindness to others. When opportunities arise to be kind or help someone in need, I always feel better when I step up and help out rather than being selfish and turning away. Christ taught this to us, and it is true.

I also believe the LDS Church offers a good structure for serving others, learning about Jesus Christ, and building faith and testimony. I have never felt any interest in joining any other church or religion. I believe many leaders of the LDS Church are truly inspired by God.

I also believe that mistakes have been made at many levels of the Church at various times. Humans are imperfect. We make mistakes, and sometimes confuse our own emotions and biases with God’s truths. The LDS Church even acknowledges that it has made mistakes (just read the Church Essays on topics such as blacks and the priesthood). Except for the Book of Mormon, which I believe is an inspired book of scripture, I’ll probably never have an accurate understanding of what actions and products of Joseph Smith were truly inspired and directed by God, and which ones weren’t. But I can still accept that he was a prophet of God. There have been times in my own life, on my mission and in various callings, when I have felt direct revelation from God, and yet I have gone on later to commit sins, to falter in my faith, and suffer significant confusion and chaos in my life. Just because we have been instruments in God’s hands at one point (like I was on my mission, and like Joseph Smith was in producing the Book of Mormon) does not mean we are immune from err thereafter. Consider the story of King David as another example of this.

There are questions I do not (and may never) have answers to. There are questions even the top leaders of the Church struggle to deal with and cannot answer well. But I’m willing to have faith that those things that don’t make sense to us now, and those questions which don’t have good answers now, will eventually be resolved by the Savior. He walked on water, restored sight to the blind, raised the dead, fed the multitudes with only 5 loaves and 2 fish, and performed other miracles. None of those miracles can be explained by science or evidence. The laws of physics, as known by the natural man, cannot explain them. But I believe they happened, and I have faith that in the end, He who performed such miracles can and will make things right, ultimately resolving all doubts and concerns. I don’t need answers to the troubling aspects of Church history to know that my life is better with the Spirit of God in it. And when I was consumed with the troubling aspects of Church history, and committing sins, the Spirit of God was not present in my life.

For these reasons, I want to be baptized and once again be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I want to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. And I want to foster and protect my relationship with both the Savior and the Holy Ghost by recommitting myself to obey the commandments. I want the burdens of sin to be fully washed away from my soul. I want and need the influence of the Holy Ghost to be more present in my life. It will help me to be a better husband, father, friend, and person.

I am incredibly fortunate to be married now to a wonderful woman. My wife is kind, wise, affectionate, beautiful, fun, and good to me. If my best assurance to be with her forever is to be sealed to her in the Temple, I want to do whatever it takes to make that happen. I love her and want to be with her always.

I’m excited to see where this path of spiritual rebirth takes me.

Thoughts on God Watching Over Us

I have a friend who shared this story with me. He is on the high council in his stake. He was assigned to speak during the usual high council Sunday. All the high councilors were asked to speak that month on either “Jesus Christ, temptations of” or “Jesus Christ, as suffering servant (from Isaiah 53)” (or something like the latter). He had a difficult time at first deciding what to speak on. He felt that speaking on the temptations of Christ was a bit clinical, as it were–yes, Jesus Christ was tempted of Satan, but hard for him to see how to apply that more broadly when speaking to full congregation. So he decided to speak on the other topic and, more specifically, on how for some people, life includes a great deal of grief and depression, and how we can respond in those situations (whether the suffering one is ourselves or someone we know), and how Christ can help in those situations. He drew in part on an Elder Holland conference talk from a few years ago in preparing his thoughts. He also included in his talk discussion of how some people become so depressed or despondent that they think of suicide or that they in fact take their own lives.

On the day where the high council would speak, the stake presidency met that morning with the high council, as usual. As the high councilors were leaving the meeting to go to their speaking assignments, one of the high councilors stated that he was so ill that he could not speak that morning. My friend, whose speaking assignment was later on in the day, volunteered to also take the place of the councilor who had fallen ill.

When my friend was driving over to the meetinghouse where he would now be speaking for his first of two talks of the day, he received a call from one of the members of the stake presidency. This man informed my friend that, in the ward where he would be speaking in a few minutes, there had been a suicide a couple of days earlier and that the members of the ward were aware of this. The reason the counselor called my friend was to alert him to this so he could be sensitive to what was going on and how the ward members would be feeling at that moment. My friend of course noted to himself how unusual it was that he had prepared a talk addressing the topic of suicide and would be giving that talk to a congregation dealing with that issue at that moment. He proceeded to deliver his talk, making some modifications to suit the situation.

Then my friend went to his second sacrament meeting of the day to give the talk again, fulfilling his original assignment. As the bishop was conducting the meeting, the bishop said he wished to express condolences to a certain family in the congregation on the death of their son-in-law. My friend realized that this family was the family of the man in the other ward who had committed suicide. The widow of that man was sitting there with her parents in the congregation.

So my friend proceeded to give his talk again. He told me this story as a testimony of how God must have been working through him to deliver this particular message at this particular time to two different congregations who needed it. Now, obviously those grieving people will need much support from the Spirit and friends and family and will grieve much in coming weeks, months, and years. But to my friend (and to me) God was clearly aware of a need and made arrangements to have a message delivered that would provide some comfort and some indication that he, God, knew what was going on and cared for those grieving people.

I admit that it does take faith to see God’s hand in these situations. One could ascribe this to coincidence. But I believe there is a God who does care for us and watch over us. I have always loved this verse from the Book of Mormon: “And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers” (Alma 9:26). I love how it says God is “quick” to hear our cries and answer our prayers. I picture God running toward us to help, like the way a parent (especially a mom) runs to a child when a child is injured on a bicycle or what have you.

For sure, there are times when God doesn’t feel as close. We have to pay attention and exercise faith to see his hand and feel his presence.

As in the story with my friend, God often helps us through other people. President Kimball has the famous statement on this: “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”

When other people help us in adversity, to me that is a sign that God is watching over us. I think about times people have helped our family in times when we have been ill or otherwise in need–people bringing meals, some sisters cleaning our home, our home teacher mowing the lawn, people helping give the kids rides to school or to other places, people praying and fasting for us, people asking how we are doing. In these times, the support from others has felt good both because other people are supporting us and because their support is evidence that God is watching over us.

Covenants

Today I was a substitute teacher for a youth Sunday School class–Course 12. The monthly topic for their “Come, Follow Me” lessons is Ordinances and Covenants. I chose to focus on the subtopic How can I deepen my understanding of covenants? I wanted to try to give these young folks a fresh perspective on a word–covenants–that they have probably heard a million times in church settings.

I told them how if you sold someone land (especially in olden times), you could impose certain conditions on the land that you sold them. For example, let’s say I owned a lot that had a road going through it back to a river. Let’s say I sold the front of that lot to someone else and I kept the back part by the river. I could impose a condition that the owner of the front lot had to let me continue to use that road to access my property. I could impose further conditions such as he is not allowed to cut down the trees on his property that are providing shade to mine, or that kind of thing (courts have certain rules for what kinds of conditions one is allowed to impose, but you get the idea). In real estate law, such conditions are often called covenants. A covenant is a solemn agreement–a serious agreement. I sold the land and you bought it with this serious agreement in writing about how you could use the land.

Sometimes we might agree to meet a friend, for example, at McDonald’s for lunch. “Meet me there at noon,” we might say. That is an agreement but we would not say that rises to the level of a solemn agreement, or covenant.

The best-known way real estate covenants survive today is in the form of CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions) imposed by homeowners’ associations, such as in a condominium complex. The people who buy into that development do so agreeing to certain terms, such as about what kind of pet they might have, when they can make noise, whether they can build a fence, etc.

It is interesting to go back to Joseph Smith’s day, when the church was just starting, and think about the question: What would you need if you were starting a church? The kids had fun talking about that question. One of them suggested you would need some kind of god to believe in. Another kid suggested that you could have a church without necessarily even having a god. The kids suggested you would need a founder. One said you would need descendants.

To help them think about this, I asked, What would you do if someone came to your door and asked if you wanted to join the ABC Club? The kids got at the answer–you would want to know, the kids said, what this club did. In other words, what do they believe, and what do you have to do if you are a member. Like, do you have to pay money, do you have to attend meetings, etc.

Going back to the analogy of starting a church, we then said that if you were starting a church, you would have to know what the members are going to believe and what you have to do to become a member. We then talked about section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In the earliest times, it was not called “section 20.” The revelations were not numbered at first. This revelation was first called the Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ. It was like the “club charter” for the church–identifying how you became a member of the church and somewhat about what it meant to be a member.

This provided the context for then reading verse 37 of section 20, which identifies the requirements for getting baptized. We listed on the board and discussed the meaning of all of the requirements found in that verse–there are quite a few, maybe about eight or so. This verse is explaining in part what solemn agreement–what covenant–a person makes when getting baptized.

We then looked at the sacrament prayers later in that same section. I asked why we would find the sacrament prayers in the same section as the requirements for baptism. The kids made the connection that the sacrament is when we renew the baptismal covenants (also, it would be natural to expect this kind of information in section 20, which is laying out some of the basic rituals of the church). I asked them to explain in their own words what it meant to renew a covenant. Several of them started out by saying, “It means to renew …” I said they couldn’t use the word “renew.” They had to explain it in simpler terms, as if talking to someone who didn’t know anything about religion. One of the youth talked about how taking the sacrament is like “redoing” and helps us to “remember.” I said that is right, taking the sacrament is like redoing the initial solemn agreement we made when we were baptized.

It is kind of like if, the day we were supposed to meet our friend at McDonald’s at lunch, we texted and said, “Are we still on for noon today?” It is reminding ourselves of the agreement. We made this very important, solemn agreement, and we want to remember it.

We looked at what we are promising through the sacrament prayers and what God promises us, as part of this solemn agreement. I challenged the kids to go home and read Mosiah 18:8-10, which has additional information about this “solemn agreement” of baptism.

 

Multiple Accounts of the First Vision

You are probably aware that Joseph Smith gave different accounts of his first visionary experience during his lifetime. Some of these are firsthand–he recorded them himself or supervised their recording–and others are secondhand–someone else reported what he had said. The Joseph Smith Papers website has done a nice job of describing these, and it provides a transcript of each account. The firsthand accounts have also been translated into a number of other languages on that website.

That there are some inconsistencies between the accounts (such as that in his first account Joseph mentions only one heavenly visitor, whereas in most of the rest he mentions two) seems perfectly normal to me, since the accounts were produced for different audiences and reasons over the course of about 12 years (from 1832, when he recorded his first written account, to 1844, when his final account–a secondhand one–was recorded).

To prove how normal inconsistency is in the telling of our own histories, I decided to study the accounts my paternal grandfather gave of meeting, courting, and/or marrying his wife, my grandmother. My grandfather loved to talk about the past and had an excellent memory. After he died in the early 2000s, I collected and photoreproduced (for the benefit of family) a bunch of documents he had written, including several in which he shared details about meeting, courting, and/or marrying my grandma. For purposes of this analysis, I will identify these accounts as follows:
-Account 1. I am not sure when or why he created this account, but it was typed on a typewriter in about 1977.
-Account 2. This is an account typewritten to introduce himself to people at the trailer park where he and my grandmother spent many summers in their retirement years. I am not sure of the date of creation–1980s at some point.
-Account 3. This is the transcript of a talk prepared by my grandpa in 1990 for a priesthood quorum lesson on the topic of “Live Joyfully with Your Wife.”
-Account 4. This account is one my grandfather dictated to me in 1997. I sat there with a laptop and typed as he spoke. I then printed out the transcript, and he read and corrected it–including close details like the spelling of names.
-Account 5. This is an account focused entirely on my grandma. It was typed by my grandpa on a Word processor in 1999 and is titled “Mary Smith, My Wife.”

In reviewing these accounts fairly brief this evening, I have easily identified at least three discrepancies among the accounts:

-According to accounts 1 and 5, my grandpa met my grandmother in the year 1937. Accounts 2 and 3 do not talk about them meeting. In account 4, my grandfather says he met my grandmother in the year 1938.

-In account 1, my grandpa recalls that when he and my grandma married, a neighbor woman commented out loud in the middle of the ceremony that “it wouldn’t last six months” (the reason for the comment was probably that my grandparents did not share the same religion). In account 3, the same statement is given as follows: “It wont last 3 months.” The other accounts do not mention this statement.

-In account 1, my grandfather says he attended college in Logan for two quarters and then met my grandmother soon thereafter. In account 5, this sequence of events is reversed–my grandfather says he met my grandmother and became interested in her, then was encouraged by his family to attend college in Logan. According to that account, he attended college there through the end of winter quarter and then dropped out and returned to his home, thereafter becoming engaged to my grandmother. The other accounts do not comment on the sequence of these events.

So, what are we to make of these three inconsistencies in these accounts from my grandpa? Come on, how could he be confused on the year they met, or how long the lady said they would remain married? And of most seriousness, how could he forget whether he met my grandma after going to college in Logan or before? You would think if those things really happened that he would remember and tell them consistently. I guess he just made the whole thing up, right? He never did meet my grandma, and he never did marry her–because marriage is important, and anyone who is honest would remember all these important details consistently. Since my grandpa could not reproduce the details consistently over the course of the different accounts, he must have fabricated the whole thing–perhaps to make himself look better to others. And here is another thing–he didn’t write about getting married until decades later. If this had really happened, he would have written about it at the time!!!

Obviously I am being facetious in the prior paragraph–we know my grandparents met and married because they produced my father, who produced me–but that is how I feel when people try to dismiss the First Vision based on there being some inconsistencies between the different accounts. OF COURSE there are inconsistencies. That is human nature–we remember and emphasize different details depending on how much time we are taking to prepare the history (do we take time to review our work or not), depending on who we are talking to (think of how different a conversation about your day at work would be depending on whether you are talking to your boss, your spouse, your child, your neighbor, or a stranger at the store), depending on how good our memory still is, depending–very important–on what the events mean to us at the time we are talking about them, and so forth. And we do not have perfect memories. We may actually forget or confuse a particular detail. Yes, it is true–we actually forget things or remember things completely incorrectly! And we can forget or overlook or underplay something at one point and then remember or emphasize it later! How scandalous!!! (The fragility of our memories is driven home to me especially when my twin brother and I talk about events from growing up. He and I will sometimes remember the exact same event, both of which we were part of, in some highly inconsistent way–like we will have the names different of the other participants, or we will not agree on who instigated a particular action, or we might disagree on how old we were when it happened, etc.)

Now, if someone wants to dismiss the First Vision for some other reason, like not believing that God would speak to such a young boy, or that Joseph Smith could not have been a prophet because of doctrines he later introduced, as a believer I don’t think that is such a great idea either, but I think those are better reasons than dismissing the First Vision because of inconsistencies in the accounts. The “multiple accounts of the First Vision” argument as a basis for rejecting Joseph Smith is, to me, an extremely weak argument just on the basis of logic. If one were really that upset about inconsistency in the recording and telling of past events, one would have to reject all recorded history, because all of it has significant inconsistency.

Following Jesus’s Example on the Sabbath Day

I taught elders quorum today. You may be aware that in Relief Society, elders quorum, and high priests group, on the fourth Sunday we follow the themes outlined by the First Presidency in the preceding conference report. The topic as assigned in the November Ensign is the Sabbath Day. Within that general area are several areas of focus. The one I was assigned to teach on today is “Jesus Christ is our example of following the Sabbath.”

We spent most of the time in the lesson reviewing four episodes reported in the New Testament when Jesus healed on the Sabbath (these are outlined in the lesson plan as assigned). The passages we reviewed were:

Luke 6:1-11
Luke 13:11-17
John 5:1-20
John 9:1-16

For each of these episodes, we looked particular at the following questions:

What day of the week was it? (Hint: It was always the Sabbath.)
What was the infirmity of the person who was healed?
How did the healing occur?
What did the Pharisees or other critics have to say about this?
How did Jesus respond to them–that is, what did he teach about the Sabbath?

Some of the thoughts expressed in the discussion or that occurred to me:
-It is interesting how the healings happen in different ways–one time by him laying on hands, another time by anointing with clay made from dirt and spittle, another time by inviting the man to take up his bed and walk, another time by inviting a man to stretch forth his hand. This angle was not the focus of the lesson, but we see he often asks the person to show faith in some way–to take some kind of step for the healing to take place.
-I think we are so used to the idea that Jesus could heal anyone of anything that perhaps we do not appreciate how remarkable it was that he could heal people of these things–someone blind from birth, someone else with an infirmity of thirty-eight years, etc. A doctor in our quorum mentioned that there are some of the healings Jesus did that can be accomplished today through medical intervention. For example, someone with an issue of blood (not studied in these passages, but a healing we read about in the New Testament) could possibly be healed through a hysterectomy, depending of course on where the blood was coming from. But for some of the healings we still have no solution today, such as would be the case with the woman who is “bowed” over (with some kind of severe scoliosis or similar).
-Jesus seemed perhaps to be going out of his way to do healings in public on the Sabbath in order to teach principles about the Sabbath and about who he was. Otherwise, he could potentially have healed in private or on another day.
-It is amazing that the Pharisees or other critics could see these healings (or hear reliable accounts of them) and not be more attracted to the doctrines Jesus was teaching. Had they ever seen such things before–a withered hand transforming into a whole one before their eyes?
-The main point of the lesson was to be inspired by seeing how Jesus spent his time. On the Sabbath Day, we can think of ways to bless the lives of others.

On “Tender Mercies” and “Divine Design”

Hail to thee, blithe spirits!

A couple of weeks ago I was a substitute teacher for Course 14 (teenagers), and today I taught elders quorum. I enjoy teaching but do not consider myself a strong teacher. I am a sort of outgoing introvert, so I like the interaction and the opportunities to grow. At the same time, I am not that comfortable hearing myself talk for more than about three minutes.

Anyway, in January the youth focused their lessons each week on different aspects of God. When I taught, I focused most of the lesson on Elder Bednar’s 2005 talk “The Tender Mercies of the Lord.” I remember when he gave that talk as a fairly new apostle and am amazed how quickly more than twelve years have gone by. Today in elders quorum, the assigned conference talk was Elder Rasband’s recent conference address titled “By Divine Design.”

These two addresses have a lot in common. The point of both is that what may appear as a “coincidence” in life may in fact be a blessing from God or some other intervention from God to help us or carry out his plan in some way.

In discussing the Elder Bednar talk with the youth, we listed on the board many of the types of tender mercies the Lord can show us. Elder Bednar described some of these in his talk and the youth came up with others. I didn’t capture the list as we produced it in class, but just from the Elder Bednar talk I had come up with this list:

blessings
strength
protection
assurances
guidance
loving kindnesses
consolation
support
spiritual gifts
gift of faith
personal confidence
repentance
forgiveness
peace of conscience
persistence
fortitude

Those are a lot of different types of ways that the Lord blesses us and helps us and intervenes in our lives.

In his address, Elder Rasband described a number of examples that to some might appear to be coincidences but to him were cases of the Lord putting people in the right place at the right time. For example, he talked about Alma meeting Amulek, a surprise reunion between two of his (Elder Rasband’s) grandchildren, and a surprise reunion with a member of the Church he had met years earlier. Many of the core points of his talk are found in these paragraphs:

“Elder Neal A. Maxwell once explained: ‘None of us ever fully utilizes the people-opportunities allocated to us within our circles of friendship. You and I may call these intersectings “coincidence.” This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God. He does not do things by “coincidence” but … by “divine design.”‘

“Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another—if we are responsive to spiritual promptings. Looking back, we can see His hand in our lives.

“We can see such heavenly intervention when Nephi returns to get the plates from Laban. He ‘was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things [that he] should do.’ Laban was soon before him in a drunken stupor, and Nephi slew him, retrieved the plates, and fled back to his brothers. Was he fortunate to just happen upon Laban? Or was it by ‘divine design’?

“Significant events unfold in the gospel and in the Church that further the kingdom of God on earth. They are not by accident but by God’s plan. He who fashioned this world can calm the seas with His word and can steer both Alma and Amulek and Nephi and Laban to be at the right place at precisely the right time.

“Likewise, events and associations unfold in each of our lives that further God’s work on earth.”

In looking back at my life, I really believe there are times God has intervened to help me. For example, I believe he led me to the job I have now. Some people say that God doesn’t care what job you have as long as you work hard and are honest, etc. That must be true in the sense that he doesn’t respect one position or field over another. But I do think he cares in the sense that he wants us to have a job that pairs us with our talents and helps us be happy. And maybe it is not true for everyone, but I think there are cases when he leads us to specific professions and positions for some reason. At least I believe I was led to my specific profession and position.

I think he has helped me in responding to the cancer I have dealt with–including by finding it early and by leading me to doctors who have provided good care.

In elders quorum today, someone made the good point that sometimes it is problematic to see God orchestrating every single thing that happens in the world. If he orchestrates every good thing that happens, would it not also follow that he has orchestrated all the bad things, like car accidents?

I don’t know how to resolve these kinds of questions except to say that no matter what has happened in our lives, God can help make it better than it is now or than it otherwise would have been without him. I also know he is at work in many ways in the world that we do not appreciate, helping, lifting, inspiring, making possible, blessing, saving. His influence is everywhere around us and in our lives, and we will be better off if we notice and thank him for it–and if we follow the nudgings he gives us.

“That which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. . . . Every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.” (Moroni 7:13, 16.)

Thoughts on Moses 6 and 7

I am not going to win any Pulitzers for this, but I thought I would briefly share some thoughts on Moses 6 and 7, which I read quite a bit in the last week in preparing to be the substitute teacher today for Gospel Doctrine (Old Testament manual, lesson 5). You will recall the Book of Moses was revealed through Joseph Smith beginning in June 1830 and became the first part of his Bible revision project. Chapters 6 and 7 describe the ministry, prophecies, teachings, and visions of Enoch, who lived in the sixth generation after Adam and Eve.

Sometimes people look at all the suffering in the world, including especially by innocent people–from war, famine, disease, abuse and other crime, poverty, and so forth–and conclude that there can’t be a loving God, because a loving God would never allow this kind of thing to happen.

In the record of Enoch found in Moses 6 and 7, I think we find a God who–knowing of the wickedness of his children and all they will suffer–is doing everything he can to help. He calls prophets to deliver His word (e.g., Moses 6:27). He invites people to believe, repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, with the promise that this gift can provide us answers to the things we ask (e.g., Moses 6:50-52). He sends angels to the earth (Moses 7:27). He sent His own Son to suffer for sins (Moses 7:39). And he weeps for the suffering of His children (Moses 7:28-40).

Doctrine and Covenants 1:17 has a similar message. God, knowing the calamity that would come upon the earth, called upon Joseph Smith and gave his commandments.

God cannot take away agency and cannot take away the consequences of sin. He can sometimes interfere to prevent or mitigate the effects of disease and accident and natural disasters and crime, but a lot of this He allows apparently because that is the nature of a fallen world and because those conditions are right for us to learn. But He does not leave us alone. He is doing everything he can to help us. I realize it is not always easy to see His hand. It takes a lot of trust and faith. We all may go through difficult times when He seems distant. All we can do is continue to seek Him and look for His blessings.

President Monson and President Nelson Addresses on the Book of Mormon

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to teach elders quorum today. Under the new curriculum program, I was assigned to teach from a conference address. The talk I was assigned was President Russell M. Nelson’s from the October 2017 general conference, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?” In this address, President Nelson references President Monson’s conference address of six months earlier, “The Power of the Book of Mormon.”

I reread President Nelson’s address a couple of weeks ago and then a couple of times again in the next few days thereafter so that thoughts on what and how to teach could begin to simmer in my mind. As I more intently was thinking about my lesson over the last few days, it occurred to me that President Monson’s final conference address (and final public address of any kind that I am aware of) was on the Book of Mormon, as was President Nelson’s final conference address as the President of the Twelve (we all expect he will succeed President Monson this week as president of the church). It seems not insignificant to me that our two top leaders, the departed prophet and the new one, have so recently emphasized to us the power of the Book of Mormon.

I was impressed in reading both the President Monson address and the President Nelson one that both emphasized the blessings that will come if we read the Book of Mormon daily.

President Monson: “My dear associates in the work of the Lord, I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives.”

President Nelson: “My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.”

These are some terrific promises–prophetic promises. A good idea for family home evening or personal study might be reviewing these promises. I know my life would be better with these blessings in it.

In my lesson today, I told the eight or so elders who were there that I have had a testimony of the Book of Mormon since I was nineteen years old, which was when I first obtained a testimony of this record as I was preparing to serve a mission (or more accurately, deciding whether to put in missionary papers–and then preparing to serve a mission), but that I have not done as well as I should have in consistently reading it. I challenged all of us to read the Book of Mormon for thirty days in a row to test the Lord and these prophetic promises. I am looking forward to seeing and feeling what is different in my life and would extend the same challenge to anyone reading this blog post.

As I read, I am going to make lists of what the Book of Mormon is, what it affirms, what it refutes, what it fulfills, what it clarifies, and what it reveals. President Nelson suggested in his address that this might be one way of approaching our study (and notice that the lists he made are published following his talk on LDS.org).