Discernment

Immigration and Israel

I have a hard time getting into politics. I tend to take the middle ground on most any policy issue, so I don't really agree with any partisan candidate. But lately with so much talk about immigration, I keep thinking about the prophecies of the Book of Mormon concerning latter-day America.

From 3 Nephi 16 (bear with me, it is a little long, but pretty interesting in this context):

6  And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of me and of the Father.

 7 Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father, and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the latter day shall the truth come unto the Gentiles, that the fulness of these things shall be made known unto them.

8 But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles--for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under feet by them;

9 And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and also the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them--

10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.

11 And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.

12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel.

13 But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel.

14 And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father.

15 But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel.

16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded me--that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance.

17 And then the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled, which say:

18 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion.

19 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

20 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.

Long story short, our gentile nation should be a lot more worried about our own righteousness than about who is crossing our borders, because the former will  determine  whether the latter poses any threat to us. Our safety lies in being counted as the Lord's people by doing as He would do.

And a last tangential thought: What better place than America to meld Jew and gentile into one as God's people? Surely here perhaps more than anywhere else, the seed of Abraham is spread among other ethnicities, so that those of natural lineage and those adopted in become indistinguishable, where the last can become first and the first last. I understand so little about how the prophecies regarding our day will play out, but what I do recognize fills me with awe and fascination. I hope to do my little part on the Lord's side, regardless of my inability to choose a political side. 

On fruit

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

-3 Nephi 14

I have wondered on occasion about this passage an how it reflects real life. Many people will use this scripture to find fault with others and then declare that religion  or  the church specifically is bad because some members do bad things or some doctrines cause pain. In real life, no one is going to bring forth good fruit all the time. Too many mistakes, too many offenses, too many sins. So how can any of us say that we are good trees, the kind whose fruit will be gathered and not burned? And how can the Church collectively say that?

As I thought about this, my mind went back to fruit trees, and the phrase "gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles." On any given fruit tree there may be varying qualities of fruit. A young tree may not produce fruit of the same sweetness that a mature tree can produce. Different kinds of fruits may be attractive to different people (for example, I love apples, but in my opinion, red delicious are really pretty but taste terrible). Some fruit is better for cooking or baking, but without sweetener they are hard to swallow. Some can have a bitter taste. Too much of any one can make you sick. 

While all this is true, and while some may say that some fruit is "bad," really all of these fruits are healthful and useful. They are all good fruits.

There are some fruits that are bad, trees  that will never produce something fit for human ingestion. Jequirity, wolfsbane, white baneberry (yes I had to look those up), thorns. Some are beautiful, but they ultimately destroy life rather than sustain it. These are the ones we should be worrying about. The ones who aren't just a little hard to swallow, but rather draw us in but bring death in their wake. 

Feminism and the Church

A great treatise by Bruce and Marie Hafen.

Women, Feminism, and Gender

Facebook Post from Elder Oaks on Receiving Answers

Recently I was asked about how I prepare myself to receive answers to my prayers for guidance. We receive personal revelation in different ways, but we should each live so that the Spirit is always with us.

I start my day very early—not because I am ambitious, but because I am old (after a while, you just can’t sleep anymore). I first bow my head and pray that the Spirit will teach me. This is a simple prayer, like one offered before a meal because that is what I am doing. I ask for nourishment from what I am about to partake. Then I study the scriptures.

Throughout my day, impressions come at various times and in various ways. I am blessed by the guidance of the Spirit. It is a precious blessing to “always have His Spirit to be with [us]” (D&C 20:77).

Tuning In.

I love this so much. And I love hearing President Faust's sweet voice.

The Universally Disobeyed Commandment

From Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Come Unto Me," Ensign, April 1998:

Nothing in this world is more burdensome than sin—it is the heaviest cross men and women ever bear.
. . .

The Lord has probably spoken enough . . . comforting words to supply the whole universe, it would seem, and yet we see all around us unhappy Latter-day Saints, worried Latter-day Saints, and gloomy Latter-day Saints into whose troubled hearts not one of these innumerable consoling words seems to be allowed to enter. In fact, I think some of us must have that remnant of Puritan heritage still with us that says it is somehow wrong to be comforted or helped, that we are supposed to be miserable about something.

Consider, for example, the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering that has ever taken place in the world or that ever will take place, the Savior said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

I submit to you, that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart. I can tell you this as a parent: as concerned as I would be if somewhere in their lives one of my children were seriously troubled or unhappy or disobedient, nevertheless I would be infinitely more devastated if I felt that at such a time that child could not trust me to help or thought his or her interest was unimportant to me or unsafe in my care. In that same spirit, I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments.


Just because God is God, just because Christ is Christ, they cannot do other than care for us and bless us and help us if we will but come unto them, approaching their throne of grace in meekness and lowliness of heart. They can’t help but bless us. They have to. It is their nature. 

I just love Elder Holland. And I needed this counsel. I am so prone to doubt myself and my capacity, to carry guilt for every failing past and present, and to fear for how I will fail in the future. I doubt myself when I don't receive an answer I hope for or understand the answer I receive, and I feel inadequate to live up the the blessings that I have received so abundantly. What an unnecessary load to carry! I need to unburden myself more regularly and more fully and to trust more in the Savior whose love I have felt so often and should know better.