Preparing the Sacrament

I helped Ethan prepare this talk for Sacrament meeting today, and he did a wonderful job giving it and got many, many compliments both on his delivery and on the content. I hope I can remember these things that we learned together every week when I see those boys preparing the sacrament.

Ethan's Talk:

Hello Brothers and Sisters, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Ethan Kenworthy. The topic I was given today was: “How our service in preparing the sacrament helps all of us cherish the gift of repentance and forgiveness by turning to Christ through this sacred ordinance”

A lot of times, preparing the sacrament is just something that is part of my Sunday routine. It’s my duty, and so I do it, and it doesn’t always feel like a big act of service. But receiving this topic gave me a good opportunity to really reflect on what it means for our ward when the teachers prepare the sacrament.

Doctrine and Covenants 59:9-10 says, “For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and pay thy devotions unto the most high.”

In his talk titled “Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament,” Elder Oaks said:

“This is a commandment with a promise. By participating weekly and appropriately in the ordinance of the sacrament we qualify for the promise that we will ‘always have his spirit to be with us.’ That Spirit is the foundation of our testimony. It testifies of the father and the son, brings all things unto our remembrance, and leads us into truth. This gift of the Holy Ghost, President Wilford Woodruff taught, ‘is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon man.’”

President Oaks continues:

The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church. It is the only Sabbath meeting the entire family can attend together. Its content in addition to the sacrament should always be planned and presented to focus our attention on the Atonement and the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

That quote made me ask myself how preparing the sacrament each week could point all of us to the Savior. To start, the symbols of the sacrament and how we prepare them are all designed to remind us of Christ’s Atonement. 

The very first thing we do when we arrive is to wash our hands. We do this in order to be clean before we handle the sacrament. In a similar way, every one of us is supposed to come to the sacrament with “clean hands and a pure heart.” (Psalm 24:3-4) We are able to become clean from our sins when we repent, and then we can renew our baptismal covenant by taking the sacrament.

The next thing we do is to prepare the bread and water. We know that the bread symbolizes the body of Jesus Christ, which He sacrificed for us. The water symbolizes Jesus’ blood, which He shed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. In a 2017 General Conference talk, Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, “The bread and water represent the flesh and blood of Him who is the Bread of Life and the Living Water, poignantly reminding us of the price He paid to redeem us. As the bread is broken, we remember the Savior’s torn flesh. As we drink the water, we think of the blood He shed in Gethsemane and on the cross and its sanctifying power.” 

During the sacrament, we pass the sacrament tray to each other down the rows. We serve each other when we pass the trays down the rows, and we all need each other as we partake of the sacrament. Jesus Christ set the example for us by serving everyone he could, like how we serve each other in this way. In the scriptures, we are told to obtain a remission of our sins we need to love, serve, and forgive each other.

We cover the trays with a cloth, which represents Jesus’ body, just as He was covered with a cloth in the tomb. It reminds us of how Jesus died for all of us so we could be forgiven of our sins. He was then resurrected and the cloth was removed, just like we take off the cloth during the sacrament. This reminds us of Jesus’ resurrection, and that we can also be born again and have new life through His atonement.

In short, every part of the sacrament is about Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God. He came here to pay for our sins. In order to do that He had to live a perfect life. In Elder Christofferson's talk, he said: “As we partake of the sacramental bread and water each week, we would do well to consider how fully and completely we must incorporate His character and the pattern of His sinless life into our life and being. Jesus could not have atoned for the sins of others unless He Himself was sinless.” Taking the sacrament each week can give us power to overcome our sins and become more like Jesus Christ.

In Luke 22: 14-20, it says:

“And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:  … And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

This shows how Jesus Himself was the first one to institute the sacrament and told his disciples: “This do in remembrance of me.” So since the beginning of the sacrament the purpose was to help us remember and cherish Jesus Christ’s Atonement. When we prepare and partake of the sacrament every week, we are following his example. 

I’m thankful for the ability that we have to repent and renew our covenants every week with the sacrament. I know that the sacrament can help us feel closer to Jesus.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Ongoing Restoration

I was scheduled to give a talk on March 15. Usually my talk preparation drags out, and I revise and revise until right up until I give it. But this time I pounded out a talk early in the week, read it through, and then couldn't think of anything else and set it aside. Of course that was the first week that our regular church gatherings were cancelled, so this talk wasn't meant to be given. But I am sure I was meant to study and write it. So I'll post it here like I usually do with the talks I write.

The Ongoing Restoration

When he was getting ready to plan speakers for this month, John decided to go through the old programs and lists of who has spoken in the last year or so to make sure he didn’t ask people who had just recently spoken. He came downstairs after compiling his spreadsheet and asked, “You know who I noticed hasn’t spoken in quite a while?”

You can guess the answer, and here I am, packing in all of my Sacrament Meeting participation before I have this baby next month and become a hermit for a while. (This is funny in retrospect; we all became hermits a lot sooner than I had anticipated.)

Today I’m going to talk about the ongoing nature of the restoration and what it means for us to live now, in the dispensation of the fullness of times. I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to reflect on it this month as we are preparing for General Conference and the bicentennial of the First Vision.

Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve told of a time when he was with a group of stake officers and someone asked him how long it had been since the Church had received a revelation. Elder Widtsoe rubbed his chin thoughtfully and replied, “Oh, probably since last Thursday.”

In his talk, “Are you Sleeping Through the Restoration?” Elder Uchtdorf said, “Sometimes we think of the Restoration of the gospel as something that is complete, already behind us—Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, he received priesthood keys, the Church was organized. In reality, the Restoration is an ongoing process; we are living in it right now. It includes “all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal,” and the “many great and important things” that “He will yet reveal.” Brethren, the exciting developments of today are part of that long-foretold period of preparation that will culminate in the glorious Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

A huge part of what makes us different as a church is our belief that revelation is ongoing; that “[God] will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” I love this doctrine, and I love that we have a living prophet on the earth today to guide us. But there has always been a little question or tension in my mind, which I have summed up this way: How is it that we say that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel, or that the Prophet Joseph Smith restored the fullness of the Gospel, if there are still great and important things yet to be revealed?

When I think logically about this, two answers come to mind:

1. There must be a difference between what we call “having a fullness” and “having everything.”
2. Having a fullness doesn’t mean that we understand and apply it fully.

I think both of these apply to us in these last days; we are seeking to understand the fulness we have been given and to increase to perfection through Jesus Christ.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained what it means to live in the dispensation of the fulness of times:

“Whenever the Lord reveals the plan of salvation anew so that men do not have to rely solely upon prior dispensings from heaven of the same glories and wonders, it is called a dispensation of the gospel. This may or may not involve a restoration of keys and powers and priesthoods. 

…

“We live in the dispensation of the fulness of times. That is to say, we live in the dispensation of the fulness of dispensations. We have received all of the ‘keys, powers, and glories,’ possessed by them of old. Angelic ministrants have come from these Biblical dispensations which had distinctive keys and powers—‘all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood.

“In the dispensation of the fulness of times,’ as Paul promised, the Lord will ‘gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.’ All of the rivers of the past have or will flow into the ocean of the present; already all of the keys and powers have fallen to our lot; in due course all of the doctrines and truths will be manifest to us.”

My translation of all of this is this: we have all of the Priesthood keys and powers, all of the principles and ordinances of the Gospel necessary for our salvation and exaltation, and because of that, we have the ability to receive every doctrine and truth as we are prepared to do so individually and as a church.

President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Of all things, that for which we should be most grateful today is that the heavens are indeed open and that the restored church of Jesus Christ is founded upon the rock of revelation. Continuous revelation is indeed the very lifeblood of the gospel of the living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are all a covenant part of this dispensation and of this process of ongoing revelation and restoration. It will not be completed “until we come to the fullness of the body of Christ,” and it requires something of all of us. President Kimball continued:

“it is the sad truth that if prophets and people are unreachable, the Lord generally does nothing for them. Having given them free agency, their Heavenly Father calls, persuades, and directs aright his children, but waits for their upreaching hands, their solemn prayers, their sincere, dedicated approach to him. If they are heedless, they are left floundering in midnight’s darkness when they could have the noonday sun.”

I think if any one of us examines our own hearts, our own understanding, and our own commitment to the Gospel, we will find places where we are lacking the investment of time or study or obedience that would be required to really understand and apply the principles of the Gospel in our lives. These things come, as Nephi put it, “line up one line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” It is the work of a lifetime and then some to grow and be converted unto the measure of the fullness of Christ. The more we learn and obey, the more the Lord can add to our understanding.

The same is true for us collectively as a Church. Sometimes we expect perfection out of the church organization and leadership, and become upset when teachings or policies change over time, but we forget that the Church is no more than the sum of a whole lot of imperfect people striving to become perfect through Christ and trying to follow Him. The only perfect thing about it is the person leading it—Jesus Christ—and the authority that He has delegated. The process of growth and revelation that this authority enables works just as it does for each of us as individuals: we are taught line upon line as we are ready to receive, and our understanding as a church will grow and be perfected over time. This means that we should not only accept when the prophet asks us to stretch or grow or even change our minds, we should expect him to do so.

It also means that as we look back on the great unfolding of this dispensation so far, we shouldn’t be surprised to see that there were imperfections and blind spots among our predecessors, even among the greatest of them, any more than we should be surprised to find them in ourselves. They, like us, were learning line upon line, and could only be taught as much as they were prepared to ask. In response to their questions about how the Church should be established, many really hard things were required of them, and I am constantly inspired by the bravery and faith with which they responded. But I know that as great as they were, they didn’t respond perfectly. They didn’t understand perfectly. No one from Joseph Smith until now has attained perfection or managed to live the fullness of the Gospel without taint from the philosophies of their time, their own weaknesses, and their own intentional or unintentional biases. And I feel to say, thank goodness. Thank goodness that kind of perfection isn’t expected of me and of you in this life, and thank goodness that the Lord is able to bring about His work in spite of what poor agents we can be on His errands. As Elder Holland famously said, Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we.

Elder Holland also said:

Brothers and sisters, this is a divine work in process, with the manifestations and blessings of it abounding in every direction, so please don’t hyperventilate if from time to time issues arise that need to be examined, understood, and resolved. They do and they will. In this Church, what we know will always trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to walk by faith.

…

And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work. As one gifted writer has suggested, when the infinite fulness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all. Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving.

I love the way that Clayton Christensen described the process of modern revelation in his book The Power of Everyday Missinoaries:

Revelation is a lot like a detective movie. The protagonist (the prophet) starts out with limited understanding of a complicated problem. As he asks question after question, the truth becomes clearer, but not without dead ends and wrong hypotheses based on limited information along the way. 

These movies end with the message on the screen, To be continued . . . (as in, “. . . we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God,” stated in our ninth Article of Faith). There are many of these ‘movies’ in the process of revelation. The ‘stars’ of these other movies include Moses, Peter, Thomas, Joseph Smith, and others—prophets whose understanding of God came from iterating processes of questions, answers, and teaching; questions, answers, and teaching.

Perspective matters a lot. From God’s perspective, the doctrine of Christ is complete and unchangeable. Some current or former members of our church pray that our prophets will change our doctrines or policies to conform to emerging societal norms. God does not invent the rules and doctrines on the fly to keep pace with society, however. From God’s perspective, doctrine is unchangeable. But from our perspective, we must always expect that the doctrine that we understand will always evolve and improve. We should expect that the Prophet might change things, on occasion. But we must also believe that we, as members, might be wrong too—and we might need to be willing to change our position on a policy or belief as we learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We simply must pray that we might ask the right questions, questions that will lead to our knowing more of what God knows.

I suppose what I have taken from all of this is summed up in that last sentence. I hope that we will seek and pray to ask the right questions. To ask the questions that will lead us to repent. To ask the questions that will stretch us and lead us to grow. To ask the questions that will help us to increase in understanding line upon line, precept upon precept, and to be patient in that process. I know that Christ lives and that we are part of His latter-day work. I know that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God, to restore the Gospel fulness and to launch this ongoing dispensation of light and knowledge that we get to be a part of. That doesn’t mean that we or our leaders are necessarily more perfect than anyone else, but it does mean that we have covenanted to be on His side. As my primary class discussed a few weeks back, we are free agents, but through covenant we have committed to be on the Lord’s team, to act on His behalf, and to keep trying when we fall short. As we do so I know that He is anxious to give us knowledge and blessings according as we are prepared to receive them.

President Nelson has recently taught: “These are exciting days. The Lord is hastening His work right before our eyes. It is thrilling. It is rigorous. More is required from each of us—more than ever before. And more is being given. … My dear brothers and sisters, the ‘veil o’er the earth is continuing to burst, and one of the deep desires of my heart is for you to receive all that the Lord is ready to reveal to you.”

That this desire sinks deep into my heart and yours is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Talmage on Miracles and Human Agency

The procedure throughout was characterized by deep solemnity and by the entire absence of every element of unnecessary display. Jesus, who when miles away and without any ordinary means of receiving the information knew that Lazarus was dead, doubtless could have found the tomb; yet He inquired: "Where have ye laid him?" He who could still the waves of the sea by a word could have miraculously effected the removal of the stone that sealed the mouth of the sepulchre; yet He said: "Take ye away the stone." He who could reunite spirit and body could have loosened without hands the cerements by which the reanimated Lazarus was bound; yet He said: "Loose him, and let him go." All that human agency could do was left to man. In no instance do we find that Christ used unnecessarily the superhuman powers of His Godship; the divine energy was never wasted; even the material creation resulting from its exercize was conserved, as witness His instructions regarding the gathering up of the fragments of bread and fish after the multitudes had been miraculously fed.

-James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ.

Feminism and the Church

A great treatise by Bruce and Marie Hafen.

Women, Feminism, and Gender

Spencer W. Kimball on Women

For some time now I've been wanting to do a more thorough study on women and on our Heavenly Mother. President Spencer W. Kimball is always a good place to start! Here is an excerpt from his talk "The True Way of Life and Salvation" from April 1978.

I want to express my appreciation for the wonderful women of the Church. We love the women of our Church. We love them as deeply as our own wives, our mothers, our grandmothers, our sisters, and our friends. Someday, when the whole story of this and previous dispensations is told, it will be filled with courageous stories of our women, of their wisdom and their devotion, their courage, for one senses that perhaps, just as women were the first at the sepulchre of the Lord Jesus Christ after his resurrection, our righteous women have so often been instinctively sensitive to things of eternal consequence. We recognize, as one man has wisely said, that while we speak of the impact of one’s mother’s tongue with a lasting effect upon us, it is our mother’s love which touches us everlastingly and so deeply.

We worry, therefore, conversely over these trends which would reduce the mother’s love in our world. God has placed women at the very headwaters of the human stream. So much of what our men and our institutions seek to do downstream in the lives of erring individuals is done to compensate for early failures. Likewise, so much of life’s later rejoicing is a reflection of a woman’s work well done at the headwaters of the home.

It was Goethe who said, “The Eternal Feminine draws us on.” (Johann W. von Goethe, Faust.)

“A good woman,” as the scriptures tell us, “is the glory of the man.” (1 Cor. 11:7.)

The scriptures remind us that “Women have claim on their husbands for their maintenance, until their husbands are taken.” (D&C 83:2.) Women also have a claim on their husbands for respect, fidelity, and thoughtfulness for in that subtle, sweet relationship that should obtain between men and women, there is partnership with the priesthood.

We delight and marvel in the appropriate development and expressions of our sisters’ many talents. Surely the Church’s educational effort in behalf of its women is a sermon in itself.

Perhaps more than any other people of like size, we are deeply committed to the development of the skills and talents of our sisters, for we believe our educational program is not simply education for this world, but involves an education for all eternity.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sponsored the advancement of women from its very outset. It was the Prophet Joseph Smith who set forth the ideals for womanhood. He advocated liberally for women in the purest sense of the word, and he gave them liberty to fully express themselves as mothers, as nurses to the sick, as proponents of high community ideals, and as protectors of good morals.

What more can any woman want for herself? What more could any man want for his wife? What more could any man want than to match that standard in his own conduct?

The Prophet Joseph gave us the Relief Society organization to advance these high purposes for Latter-day Saint women. That society today is a worldwide movement holding membership in national and world organizations for the advancement of women.

Finally, when we sing that doctrinal hymn and anthem of affection, “O My Father,” we get a sense of the ultimate in maternal modesty, of the restrained, queenly elegance of our Heavenly Mother, and knowing how profoundly our mortal mothers have shaped us here, do we suppose her influence on us as individuals to be less if we live so as to return there?

Perhaps many today would scoff at the question, "What more can any woman want for herself?" But the more I see the way society is going, the more I see that the greatest good I can do in the world is to love on an individual level and foster community among those around me. That is why we need more gwomen to be free from work; to be able to rely on their husbands for their support so that they can be present, not only in their children's lives but as a force for community good.

And I can practice law on the side, too =)

"Blind Obedience"

Leave it to Elder (a.k.a. Justice) Oaks to make solid distinctions in the knowledge and obedience departments.

In closing, I refer to the relationship between obedience and knowledge. Members who have a testimony and who act upon it under the direction of their Church leaders are sometimes accused of blind obedience.

Of course, we have leaders, and of course, we are subject to their decisions and directions in the operation of the Church and in the performance of needed priesthood ordinances. But when it comes to learning and knowing the truth of the gospel—our personal testimonies—we each have a direct relationship with God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, through the powerful witness of the Holy Ghost. This is what our critics fail to understand. It puzzles them that we can be united in following our leaders and yet independent in knowing for ourselves.

Perhaps the puzzle some feel can be explained by the reality that each of us has two different channels to God. We have a channel of governance through our prophet and other leaders. This channel, which has to do with doctrine, ordinances, and commandments, results in obedience. We also have a channel of personal testimony, which is direct to God. This has to do with His existence, our relationship to Him, and the truth of His restored gospel. This channel results in knowledge. These two channels are mutually reinforcing: knowledge encourages obedience (see Deuteronomy 5:27; Moses 5:11), and obedience enhances knowledge (see John 7:17; D&C 93:1).

We all act upon or give obedience to knowledge. Whether in science or religion, our obedience is not blind when we act upon knowledge suited to the subject of our action. A scientist receives and acts upon a trusted certification of the content or conditions of a particular experiment. In matters of religion, a believer’s source of knowledge is spiritual, but the principle is the same. In the case of Latter-day Saints, when the Holy Ghost gives our souls a witness of the truth of the restored gospel and the calling of a modern prophet, our choice to follow those teachings is not blind obedience.

-Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Testimony," CR April 2008.

Who We Are

I am sure today in our lives many of us wish that we were something other than we are, thinking likely that their lot is preferable to our own. But Alma said further: 

Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. (Alma 29:2-3)

I believe that we, as fellow workers int eh priesthood, might well take to heart the admonition of Alma and be content with that which God hath allotted us. We might well e assured that we had something to do with our 'allotment' in our pre-existent state. This would be an additional reason for us to accept our present condition and make the best of it. It is what we agreed to do...

We unquestionably knew before we elected to come to this earth the conditions under which we would here exist, and live, and work. So little wonder it is that Alma of old said that we sin in the thought, or in the desire, or in the wish that we were someone other than ourselves. He said further: 

Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called? Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?

For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore, we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. (Alma 29:6-9)

I have a conviction deep down in my heart that we are exactly what we should be, each one of us, except as we may have altered that pattern by deviating from the laws of God here in mortality. I have convinced myself that we all have those peculiar attributes, characteristics, and abilities which are essential for us to possess in order that we may fulfill the full purpose of our creation here upon this earth.

Once again, that allotment which has come to us from God is a sacred allotment. It is something of which we should be proud, each one of us in our own right, and not wish that we had somebody else's allotment. Our greatest success comes from being ourselves. 

I think that we can console ourselves best by believing that whatever is our allotment in life, whatever is our call in the priesthood, the Lord has been wise and just, and I might add, merciful, in giving to us that which we need to accomplish the particular purpose of our call.

-Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, Oct. 1952, pp. 71-72

Presiding

I really liked this description of what it means to preside in this article by therapist Randy Keyes from the June 2012 Ensign:

The husband’s patriarchal duty as one who presides in the home is not to rule over others but to ensure that the marriage and the family prosper. President David O. McKay (1873–1970) explained that one day every man will have a personal priesthood interview with the Savior: “First, He will request an accountability report about your relationship with your wife. Have you been actively engaged in making her happy and ensuring that her needs have been met as an individual?”

The husband is accountable for growth and happiness in his marriage, but this accountability does not give him authority over his wife. Both are in charge of the marriage. In righteous marriage councils both spouses share a set of virtues that when applied help them focus on each other.

We can study some of these virtues in Doctrine and Covenants 121:41: “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.”


We cannot use the priesthood to assert power and influence. Therefore, we can’t use unrighteous means to establish dominance in marriage. True power comes only when we work together in righteousness and so qualify for blessings from the Lord.

Put in Trust.

Today's scripture:

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts."  -1 Thessalonians 2:4

At first I was mostly thinking about what a privilege it is to have the Gospel, and how I am silly about being apprehensive sharing it with others. But as I typed, I started thinking about what it means to be put in trust. In legal terms, a trust is a mechanism for controlling the distribution and transfer of property. If I were to put my house in trust, for example, I would transfer ownership to a trustee, who would have a fiduciary duty to distribute the income from the house to my designated beneficiaries. (I realize this is very simplistic; it has been five years since I took Trusts class, and I haven't looked at one since then.) The trust is governed by the rules set up at its creation.

In that sense, any and all of us who are called to the work are trustees of God's Kingdom upon the earth. We are given a stewardship, and all of the attendant knowledge, revelations, and blessings, but we also have a fiduciary duty to distribute the fruits of the Gospel to those designated by our Trustor, Jesus Christ (i.e. to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples). And since anyone who desires to serve God is called to the work (D&C 4:3), that means every single member of the Church who desires to serve is a trustee of the Kingdom. No one is given the Gospel of Jesus Christ only for their own benefit. In fact, when we sign onto the deal, we covenant to "keep His commandments," to "bear one another's burdens," to "comfort those who stand in need of comfort," and to "stand as a witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places." (D&C 20:77, Mosiah 18:8-9) Those are the fiduciary duties we have as Trustees of His Kingdom, and more may be added upon us as we accept callings within the Priesthood and Auxiliary organizations of the Church.

So not only does God trust me with His Kingdom, he has given it to me in trust, with the solemn duty to share it with all of His children who will listen. The trial of my heart will be whether I carry out my duty or give in to the pressure to "please men" instead of God.

The Lord's Anointed.

I got another link to a well-intentioned but potentially contentious group of LDS women advocating for women to be able to breastfeed in Church meetings. To be honest, in general I don't care to voice an opinion on the matter. We all have different comfort levels and come from different backgrounds, and I think it matters much less if one side is right or wrong as it matters how we treat and consider each other in discussion and practice. So my personal take on breastfeeding in public isn't really relevant to what I want to say.

What always makes me a little uncomfortable about these "grassroots movements" that seem to keep popping up on the internet is that they may invite criticism and disparaging of Church leaders, and that is something that I have covenanted not to do. The Lord makes that point pretty clear:

“Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them.” (D&C 121:16.)

As I was thinking about that commandment, something somewhat obvious occurred to me for the first time: every member of the Church who has received the temple endowment has been anointed. And there are probably even more uses and connotations for that word that would bring a broader range of people within its meaning. Of course you can say that the scripture is talking about Church leadership and specifically the Prophet Joseph, and it is, but in some form we are all part of that leadership. Our specific stewardship may change over time, but we are all called and consecrated to the work. So really, I shouldn't be speaking evil of anyone. And that is, of course, a given, but takes on more weight in light of the covenants I've made and the promises I've received in exchange.

The gates of hell shall not prevail

From Revelations of the Restoration, p. 1029:

As used in scripture, hell has reference to the place of departed spirits (Bible Dictionary, 699). In some passages, though certainly not all, it refers to the place of torment or the abiding place of wicked spirits. The point of this passage of scripture is that the keys being promised to Peter will have power to open such gates. A gate prevails when it keeps something in our out of a particular place. For keys to prevail is for them to either lock or unlock such a gate so that people can enter or leave the gated area.

Those who obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel have the promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against them (D&C 10:69, 17:8, 21:4-6; 98:22). This is generally thought to mean that they are safe from the threat of ending up in the place of torment when they die. it is also generally supposed that in the context of the present text it is saying that hell or the devil will not prevail against Peter. In face, what is being said is that Peter will have power to direct the ministering of the gospel in the world of the spirits and that he, and for that matter all faithful Saints acting under his direction, will have the power to move freely from one part of the spirit world to another.

Was your mind just blown? Mine was. Priesthood keys = ability to preach to and do ordinances for spirits in prison (i.e. hell) = gates of hell can't prevail against the work of the Church, which is saving souls. Here is more from Harold B. Lee in "Preparing to Meet the Lord," Improvement Era 68:122, Feb. 1965:

Because the keys of the priesthood which were restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith the gates of hell did not prevail against the church of Jesus Christ, notwithstanding the Great Apostasy. through the saving ordinances of the gospel, work could be done for the millions who died between the time of the Church of Jesus Christ inthe first century AD and the restored Church of Jesus Christ, AD 1830.

There is a vital responsibility given to him who holds the keys, all the keys that pertain to the kingdom, even the President of the Church in each dispensation. The Lord said that in a great revelatoin. To Peter, the Master said, "And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16;19) He also said that the gates of hell should not prevail against Christ's Church. (see ibid. 16:18) Now, the gates of hell would have prevailed against the Lord's work if there hadn't been given the ordinances pertaining to the salvation of those who are dead. During those periods when the priesthood to perform the saving ordinances of the gospel was not upon the earth, there were millions who lived, many of whom were faithful souls. If there hadn't been a way by which the saving ordinances of the gospel could be performed for those who thus died without the knowledge of the gospel, the gates of hell would have prevailed against our Father's plan of salvation.

Two Trees: Another awesome view on motherhood and priesthood

Okay, just one more. I promise you'll like it.

http://empoweringldswomen.blogspot.com/2010/11/two-trees-symbolic-interpretation-of.html

Update: Here is another version that is more readable: http://mormonscholarstestify.org/1718/valerie-hudson-cassler

I think it is so funny to me that the world sees the Church as subjugating women. I am so much more free having a husband and a whole Church network to support me in my responsibilities. I am free because I love and take care of my body, and use it for its ordained purposes instead of as a tool or an object. I am free because I don't have to compete with men to be complete as a woman. I am free because I don't have to do and be everything in order to legitimize my gender. I don't have to bear the weight of the whole world; I can rely on my companion and help meet to do his part so I can do mine.

Motherhood and Priesthood

A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook recently:

Empowering LDS Women: Motherhood is the Equivalent of Priesthood?

I am often a bit hesitant or skeptical when I read articles with these kinds of titles, because it seems that the internet has too-often become a forum for women to criticize our priesthood leaders and propose myriad ways that they should have more "power" or "say" in the Church. But I appreciated that the author of this article seems to have spent a lot of time trying to reconcile her understanding to the revealed word and the direction of modern Prophets rather than doing the opposite: trying to make the doctrine conform to her notions of fairness or equality. As a result, she has some really interesting and lovely insights.

"Received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name."

I had never made this connection as it relates to this phrase from D&C 76:51:

"Received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name. Two separate concepts are mentioned here. First, those who obtain a place in the celestial world will do so on the strength of their testimony of Christ. In addition to that testimony, they must also believe on the name of Christ. That is, they must also accept and reverence those who come in the authority, or the name, of Christ. They must respect the authority of the priesthood and all of its offices. Not only must they have accepted Christ, but they must also have complied with all the laws and ordinances of his gospel. They must accept and sustain the president of the Church, the Twelve Apostles, and all those who have been called to preside over them in the government of the kingdom of God. In the true and proper sense of things, one cannot accept Christ and at the same time reject those he has sent to act in his name. In the meridian day one could not truly profess to accept Christ while rejecting Peter, James, and John. Similarly, in our day people cannot genuinely profess to accept Christ but reject the testimony of Joseph Smith or his lawful successors in the presidency of the Church, nor can they reject the ordinances of salvation as they are found in that Church. Only by accepting these things can one take upon themselves the name of Christ and believe on his name."

From Revelations of the Restoration, p. 527

Nephi and the Priesthood

I was thinking today about honoring the priesthood, and the song Nephi's Courage popped in my head. I thought it was interesting how the Lord's assignments for Nephi progressed. First, Nephi got the commandment to get the brass plates through his father. He proved submissive and faithful.

Next, Nephi received his own revelation about how to obtain food, but he showed that he honored his fathers priesthood authority by seeking his counsel and asking him to appeal to the Lord for their family.

Only then did he receive direct, prophetic revelation of his own when it came time to build the boat. Clearly the ability to honor the line of priesthood authority was an important qualification for the Lord.

Women and the Priesthood: thoughts lately.

A friend of mine posted a link recently to a group of LDS feminists. It seems that a lot of similar groups are popping up on the internet--people who are displeased with a particular aspect of LDS doctrine or culture, and then focus in on it incessantly. I find myself in an interesting position; I understand a lot of the points, and have even thought about and struggled with some of them. I don't agree, but I have a hard time conveying how I feel about it in an articulate and effective manner.

So when I came across this post this evening, I was grateful. The author hits the nail on the head for me; the world can't understand that the patriarchal order is not inherently unequal because it doesn't understand the nature of the priesthood (or of womanhood, for that matter). Read for yourself:

http://mormonmidrashim.blogspot.com/2012/02/priesthood-cooperative-culture-and-why.html

I know there are plenty of people who disagree (that seems to be all I come across lately). But it is refreshing for me to read a coherent explanation of the priesthood, which is meant to exalt women (and men), not debase them.